Tenshi no Riddle
by Ricky Otaku
Summary: The AnR kids followed their parents' steps and ended up in a survival game.
1. Prologue

**Hello everyone! This is actually a sequel to Love riddles, who was already a sequel to Little devil. So be sure to have checked those two first, otherwise you might get confused. So this fic will focus on the AnR kids from my headcanon as they appeared in my two previous fics. I'll be a fic more about action, with some shipping moments. I hope you'll like it.**

* * *

Azuma Aki woke up in a bed that wasn't his. The first thing he noticed as he woke up was that the ceiling wasn't the same as his bedroom. He got out of bed and examined the place he was. It was definitely not his room. Last time he checked, his room didn't have bars. Didn't take him long to understand where he was: in a jail cell.

His first instinct was to freak out, but he managed to keep his composure. For a reason he didn't know, he ended up in jail. He was pretty sure he never committed any crime.

He tried to remember the last thing he did before going to bed. In fact, he couldn't remember going to sleep at all. The last thing he could remember was coming back from school. Did he collapse on his way home? It would explain why he was wearing his school uniform and not his pyjama.

So the most logical conclusion to his situation was that during is way home, he was knocked out and then jailed. But the reason why remained a mystery.

Suddenly, he heard a rang. It was his phone. He pulled it out and looked at it. He had received an email. Curious, he opened it and began to read it.

"Dear Azuma Aki, you have been chosen to participate in a survival game. You're one of the 8 targets participating in this game. You all have been locked inside a jail with various criminals, all prisoners. If they managed to kill one of the targets, they will be freed. But even if you are targets, it doesn't mean you can't fight back. At each prisoner you kill, you'll earn a point. The targets who ended up with the most point at the end of the game will have a wish granted. Killing another target give you 10 points. You can also try to find the exit, but in this case, no wish. The choice is yours. Killing or be killed, or trying to survive until the end, those are your options. Good luck!"

Aki nearly dropped his phone. Was it a joke? It wasn't funny. But given the fact he had most likely been kidnapped, it was probably not a prank. It was serious. His life was in danger. He didn't want to kill anyone, but he was ready to defend himself to survive. He was an Azuma after all, he had been trained to fight.

Suddenly, the door opened and Aki left the cell, determined to survive and find the exit.

* * *

Was that supposed to be a joke? Because it was of poor taste. Inukai Isuko punched the wall with anger. He just looked at his phone and read about the survival game. He couldn't believe someone dared to put him into such a twisted game. Him, the great Inukai Isuko, being treated as a mere target? Unacceptable. If one of those dirty prisoners try to attack him, he'll have no hesitation to strike back. He never killed before, but his papa was an assassin and he had been trained by her. He was sure he would be able to kill if he had to.

Isuko left his cell. A wish...he had to admit that it was kind of interesting him. He could wish for money, he was sure it would please his parents. He was raised by a mother who loved money, while the other was obsessed with saving money. Those behaviours had rubbed on him and he now values money as something important and even primordial. But he didn't feel comfortable with the idea of killing without a reason. Well, if enough prisoners attacked him, he would have a reason to kill a lot, and perhaps his wish granted.

Isuko left his cell, ready to defend himself and if possible, have his wish granted.

* * *

Fujimoto Yuki immediately left her cell as soon as she read the message on her phone. The first place the prisoners would search her was probably her cell, reasons to get out of there as soon as possible. She walked in the jail, fast yet cautious, trying her best to not make any sound.

Yuki was terrified. The situation couldn't be worst. She was trapped in a deadly game where her life was in danger. She was far from being confident in her physical strength. But she managed to keep her composure. She was a logical person, always rational. She was able to control her emotions.

She didn't want to kill. She wasn't even sure she was able to commit a homicide. Maybe to protect herself, but still, she didn't want to. And there was nothing she wished for that could cost the sacrifice of human's lives. She already had all she wanted. A loving family. Thinking about them made her sad. She was afraid she would never see them again.

She cautiously entered a room. It was empty. She decided to hide there for a while and wait for the end of the game. All Yuki wanted was to survive this so she can return to her family, as well as school. She was the class representative of her class after all, she had responsibilities there.

So for the sake of her school life and family, she'll do her best to stay alive until the end.

* * *

A survival game uh...sounds like something quite interesting!

Kenshi Ryuka was actually excited when she read the message on her phone. Killing to win...sounded like a great plan. She had no problem with killing, quite the contrary. She recalled the good old time she was a serial killer as a child. She missed those days. But now was the chance to finally kill without any consequences. After all, it was self-defence. And those prisoners were just trash, scums, criminals. Killing them would actually be doing a favour to society. No one would blame her if she killed them, given her situation.

But first, she needed to get rid of her glasses. It would be bad if they ended up being broken. Someone important to her, her guardian, gave them to her. And they were an important part of her disguise, her mask of the nice and shy girl she was pretending to be at school. Gosh she hated this act, but it was necessary. But right now, she'll finally have the occasion to be true to herself and kill as much as she wanted. A wish uh...it greatly interested her. What would she wish for? Being able to kill without any consequences? Sounds nice.

But then she thought about her guardian. She wouldn't want that. It made Ryuka doubted. She both wanted to killas well as please her guardian. She respected her so much after all. She decided that for now, she should focus on the game and think about it later, when she'll win. There was no point in tormenting herself with something like that, she should just enjoy herself and take advantage of the situation to do what she wanted to do for so long.

She removed her glasses and put them in their case, then in her pocket. She examined the cell and looked under the bed. She found a pencil with a sharpener. A devilish grin appeared on her lips.

She couldn't wait to stab some prisoners and maybe some of the other targets.

* * *

Namatame Tsurugi couldn't believe what was happening. It was scandalous, awful, completely inhumane. Whoever is behind this twisted game had no moral. How could they toy with human lives that way? How despicable. He could only feel despise to such a being.

He read about the survival game on his phone. All he could feel was disgust. Killing prisoners to have a wish granted? How horrible. Despite their crimes, prisoners were humans too, killing them for such a reason was simply immoral. There was no way he would shred a single drop of blood. Killing was wrong no matter the reason.

He tried to remember how he got there. He was heading for home with his little sister. Suddenly, the thought of her made him panic. Where was she? Was she abducted to and trapped into this cruel game? He was sick worried for her. He was his big brother after all, he was instinctively feeling protective for his baby sister.

He looked around the cell and noticed his kendo sword in one of the corner. He grabbed it and examined it. It was really his. With this he'll be able to protect himself without causing fatal damage to his opponents.

He was determined to stop this game and save his sister, as well as anyone else who was trapped here.

* * *

Namatame Chidori barely felt anything. She knew this game was wrong and immoral. She knew the person who was behind it was a terrible human being. But she wasn't angry or mad, sad or afraid. She just felt a slight bitter feeling in her chest. Obviously she didn't like being trapped in this awful situation, she wanted to get out of here, but she wasn't panicking either.

It actually felt familiar. It reminded her of her time as an assassin. It was cold, ruthless, dark. There was no place for pity or emotions in that cruel world. She was used to this. She thought she had move one from this life thanks to her family's love, but it seemed that deep down, she was still the cold-blooded assassin she used to be.

She tried to remember how she got here. She was heading home with her brother Tsurugi. Then she suddenly got sleepy...She concluded that she must have been drugged or something, and probably her brother too. She wasn't really worried about him. He was strong, she knew he would be able to protect himself. But she also knew he must be worried for her. He was such a good brother, she kind of felt bad for potentially worrying him.

She sighed. She wondered what she should do. She had no problem killing the prisoners or the other targets if they attacked her. She was the type to kill rather than being killed. But then there was the wish. She couldn't think of anything she really wished for. She didn't care about it. If she killed, it would only be to protect herself. But first, she needed to find a weapon.

Venturing in the prison, she was willing to do anything to defend herself and to find a way out.

* * *

Hanabusa Sayo was violently smashing her baseball bat against the bars. She had no intention to stay quietly captive. She had to get out of here. She didn't want to get along with this messed up game. She continued to hit the bars until the door suddenly opened.

She rushed to get out of the cell and began to run in the prison, searching for an exit. She then remembered something. The last thing she remembered was her and her twin sister heading for the tea house they are working at. Could it mean...that she was kidnapped to? Upon the realization her sister might be in danger, Sayo began to panic. She couldn't leave now, not without her.

Screw the wish. She won't get along with those twisted rules. She'll only do what she needed to get out of here safe with her sister. She stopped for a moment and looked at her bat. Would she be able to kill? She already killed someone with this very bat once, to protect her little sister. She was convinced she could do it again.

So she continued to run in the prison, looking for her sister, determined to escape this place with her.

* * *

Crouching in the corner of the cell, Hanabusa Mitsumi was grabbing her head between her hands, panicking. The nightmare was back. she had been kidnapped by bad people. That reminded her too much of the time when she was a kid, when she was abducted by those bad men. She didn't want it to happen again. She was so terrified. She wanted to go home. She wanted to be with her mothers and sister again, working at the tea house together. Being safe with them, protected by them, happy.

Her sister. This thought was occupying all her mind. Where was she? Was she safe? Was she in danger? Did someone try to hurt her?

Then suddenly, Mitsumi noticed a familiar object on the floor. It was a rock as big as a baseball ball. Flashes of memory came back to her, and she knew what she had to do.

She suddenly became cold, stoic. She stood up to grab the rock. This feeling in her hand...it felt right. She was used to it. She knew what she should do.

A wish...her only wish was to keep Sayo safe. No matter the cost, she will protect her big sister for any monsters that may harm her.

With a cold-blooded mind, Mitsumi left the cell, obsessed about the idea of protecting Sayo.

* * *

A person alone in a room was smirking as they looked at their phone. Message sent. They then looked at the multiple screens in front of them, all linked to various cameras in the prison. All the targets had left their cells, the prisoners were going to be free next.

"So the game has started," The individual said grinning as they prepared their next message to the targets.

* * *

 **A new survival game has begun, this time all the AnR kids are the targets. How will things end up for them, and who is behind all of this and why? Let me know your thought and if you're interested in this story.**


	2. Chapter 1: The world is full of

**Hi there! I decided to continue this story, who should have around 10 chapters. I hope you'll enjoy it.**

* * *

Something was wrong, Haru knew it. It was passed the hour which school end and yet, her son Aki wasn't home. When he decided to not come back right after school he always called to warn them. But today he didn't. She was beginning to be worried. Did something happen to him? Multiple terrible scenarios were playing in her mind.

"No need to worry, Haru. He's strong, he knows how to defend himself," Tokaku told her.

"But! It's not normal! When he doesn't come home after school he always warned us. But he didn't and it's already so late! What if something bad happened to him!?"

Haru remembered when she was his age, all she went through. Kidnapping, tortures, attempting murders. She didn't want her son to go through the same as her and couldn't help but think maybe he could have been targeted too.

"What if… it's the clan's fault?" Haru suddenly said.

"But you lead the clan now, and you abolished murders…"

"Perhaps it's someone who isn't happy about how I lead the clan who did something to Aki!"

"Or maybe he's with a friend and has simply forgotten to call us. It can happen, if he's having fun. I wouldn't be the first time…"

"But usually it wasn't so late! The sun went down since a while now!" Haru insisted.

Tokaku didn't find anything to reply to that. She was starting to share Haru's worries. Aki was her son too and she cared for him. Suddenly, the phone rang. Haru, probably thinking it was Aki, jumped on the phone and put it on her ear. She then looked disappointed.

"No, he hadn't come home," Haru said.

Her eyes grew wide opened, much to Tokaku's concern.

"Haru, what it is? Who's on the phone?"

Her wife looked at her, with an afflicted expression.

"It's Hanabusa-san. Her daughters didn't come back home too."

* * *

Aki was wandering in the prison, looking for the exit. He was wondering, why him? Why did he end up in such a sick game? Was he chosen randomly or was it personal? He couldn't think of anything he could have done to deserve this. Then was it related to his parents? To him, his mothers were respectable and kind people so he couldn't think of anything they could have done to cause this situation. Everything felt just so surrealist.

He then found a door and cautiously, he opened it. It looked like an office. There was no one in it. He entered the room and start looking around. At first glance, there was nothing useful here. He then approached the desk and opened the drawer. Inside was a taser, a weapon mostly used by cops to stun criminals. It seemed like a perfect weapon for him. He could knock out people who might try to attack him without being lethal. He had no intention to kill anyone. Killing was simply wrong, no matter the reason.

Suddenly, he heard his phone ringing. He checked it and discovered that he received a text message. It looked like… a riddle.

"The world is full of _ " Aki read.

What is the world full of? And why did he receive such a riddle? It seemed to be coming from the same person who sent him the information about the game. He was wondering if he should reply. The sender was probably his abductor, the mastermind behind all of this. Maybe it was safest to reply. Aki thought of his family and friends while answering.

"Love," he typed before sending it.

He then put away his phone and grabbed the taser, before exiting the room, determined to find the exit of the prison.

* * *

Still hiding in a room, Yuki was doing her best to make as little sound as she could. Even her breathing was low. She had no idea how she ended up in such a situation. What had she done to deserve this? No clues. But she managed to keep her composure. Now wasn't the time to lose control of her emotions. She had to keep a cool head if she wanted to survive and be back with her family.

She looked around. The room was mainly empty, except for one locker. Cautiously, she approached it and opened it as quietly as she could. Inside there was a back bag. Curious and wondering if there was anything useful in it. So she took it and opened it silently. She examined the content and discovered what it was. Inside the bag were bombs, all sort of. Yuki knew about it because both her guardians had knowledge about bombs.

Then her phone vibrate. She quickly took it so it wouldn't make too much noise. She had received a text message, a riddle.

"The world is full of _"

Yuki wondered what was the meaning behind this riddle. But she was so used to answer to question that she instinctively typed a reply, thinking about school.

"Responsibilities."

She put away her phone and grabbed the bag. Who knows, maybe it could be useful. She put it on her back and exit the room, realizing that she should try to find the exit.

* * *

Chidori didn't lose time overthinking about the situation. Someone kidnapped her for whatever reason and wanted her to participate in this deranged game. The reason didn't really matter now, all she cared about was surviving. If she had to kill for that, she will. She'll prioritize her life over those of others. She was cold after all, ruthless, she had been trained in her young age to be an assassin, to kill. So this whole situation felt almost nostalgic for her.

Her phone rang and she pulled it out, discovering she had received a text message. A riddle.

"The world is full of _"

"Liars," Chidori instinctively typed, thinking about most people she met in her life.

She put away her phone and went into the room she found. It was a small laboratory. Chidori examined the place, searching for anything useful. There was a lot of flasks, containing either medication or poisons. Chidori wondered if she should take some, more specifically poison. It could be an interesting weapon. She had been trained to use various poisons and how to handle a gun. Then, she found something in a cabinet. She opened the door and retrieved it. It was a tranquillizer gun. It could be useful, but it wouldn't be lethal. Perhaps she should change the dart and make them poisonous instead…

Suddenly, she began to think about her family. Her older brother who begged her to not be an assassin anymore, her adoptive parents who accepted her despite her past and wanted her to have a normal life. If she suddenly kills again, it could ruin all the efforts and hope they had for her. She felt like it would be unrespectful to them and surprisingly, she cared about it. She cared about them. They were her family. She didn't want to disappoint them.

So she simply took the tranquillizer gun, it should be enough to protect herself. And this way, there won't be more blood on her hands. She left the laboratory, ready to defend herself and survive this game.

* * *

"The world is full of _"

Tsurugi thought about the current situation and the world in general, and only one word came to his mind.

"Injustice."

So many injustices in this world, but he hadn't given up on bringing justice as much as he can, starting by finding the mastermind of this twisted game and stop them. So he continued to run in the prison, armed with his kendo sword, searching for the one responsible for this game.

* * *

Mitsumi was looking at her phone, absent-minded. The world was full of what? There was only one thing that mattered to her right now. Protecting Sayo. Protecting her from all the...

"Monsters," she typed.

The world was full of monsters that could hurt Sayo. And it was her duty to eliminate them all. And she will. Still holding her rock, Mitsumi was looking for the monsters who could dare to hurt her big sister, ready to send them all to hell.

* * *

"Foods. The world is full of delicious foods. Duh," Sayo typed, really confused about why she received this question.

She put her phone away, pressed the tip of her baseball bat on her shoulder and continued her way, ready to smash any threat and found her little sister safe and sound.

* * *

Isuko found a coffin in a dead end. Curious about it, he opened it and discovered that it was filled with weapons, mainly with blades. He decided to go for something simple and easy to use, a normal hunting knife. It should be able to make a lot of damage and even kill is potential opponents. Thinking about killing made him wonder if he could really kill someone. Is papa was an assassin and she trained him, so he should be. His life was at stake after all, he had to do anything he could to survive. That was what his papa taught him.

"Uh? A dead end… And you're the first person I saw here."

It was a feminine voice. Isuko turned back and discovered a girl with an average height, with short curly dark brown hair and forest green eyes, wearing a school uniform composed of a black shirt, white jacket without sleeves, with a red tie and shirt. She was smiling in a kind way, but since he was used to fake smiling at school, he knew it was fake. And he knew her.

"Oh? But we met before, don't we? If I recall, you have some girly name, haha."

He was beginning to feel frustrated. He didn't like when people made fun of his name, the name he received from his papa. He loved his name and to him, it was the coolest name ever.

"Inukai Isuko. And my name isn't girly. It's cool."

"Inukai uh… I'm Kenshi Ryuka. According to our name, you're a dog and I'm a dragon. Interesting uh?"

"If you say so… Now I remember you. We met once."

"Yeah! You were with that cute boy, what's his name again… ah, yes, Aki-chi! Such a cutie, I could just bite him. Hehe."

Isuko clenched his fists. He remembered this girl perfectly and how he hated her. He was spending time with Aki and out of nowhere, this girl appeared and started to flirt with Aki. His Aki. No one else than him was allowed to do that.

"Uh? You look mad, Inukai. What is it? You don't like when I talk about Aki-chi?"

"Aki is mine, so I would appreciate if you keep your dirty hands out of him please," he replied with a plastic smile.

"Oh! He's your boyfriend? Haha, gaaay."

Isuko felt embarrassed by this statement. It wasn't true, but he did have feelings for Aki. Feelings he hadn't manage to tell him. So for this girl to talk about it like it was a joke, it felt so insulting.

"It doesn't concern you! And what are you doing here?" Isuko replied.

"Probably the same as you. The game. It's fun, isn't it? We can kill as much as we wanted and it'll be viewed as self-defence. Wonderful isn't?" Ryuka replied, still smiling calmly. "And you're not a prisoner, which mean… you worth 10 points."

There was something wrong with that girl. Isuko felt like she could be a threat.

"So… how about I kill you, Inukai?"

Isuko felt his heart miss a beat. This girl… wanted to kill him? She looked so calm yet she made such a threat. She was definitely dangerous, he had to defend himself against that crazy girl. He had to…

"Not if I kill you first!" he declared.

"Ah, as if I would be scared of a faggot like you!"

Now he was furious. She dared to use such a despicable word, not only she was a threat but she was a total bitch. Then suddenly, his phone rang, and so did Ryuka's. They both looked at their phone.

"The world is full of… ," Isuko began to read.

"Scums," Ryuka said. "Speaking of that, there is one right in front of me."

This time, she wasn't showing her fake nice smile. She was showing a taunting smirk that seemed totally sincere.

"So, what's your answer?" Ryuka asked.

"Annoying people, just like you."

"Ouch, I'm hurt, haha. HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

She was there, laughing like she was some kind of insane cartoon villain. Holding his knife, Isuko was ready to defend himself. Ryuka stopped laughing and grinned, before pulling out… a pencil? She then jumped at him, trying to stab him with the pencil. He reacted by trying to hit her with the knife. But Ryuka was fast, she dodged it easily, before suddenly punching him in the face. Isuko recoiled, a little bit dizzy bit this punch.

"I should have mentioned, I do boxing," Ryuka revealed.

So she was a fighter too. But he was sure he was stronger than her. She may know boxing, he was trained by a professional assassin.

They exchanged punched and kicked, as well as trying to stab each other. Isuko couldn't help but feel nervous. Will he really have to kill that girl? It would bring him 10 points for the game. But at the same time, a part of him felt like it would be bad. His papa would approve but he knew his mama wouldn't. But if it was for his own sake, then it should be fine.

He dodged one of Ryuka's punch and managed to kick her in the stomach, before punching her right on the nose. A lot of blood came out from her nose as she collapsed on the floor. Isuko took advantage of her defenceless self and raised his knife, ready to strike. Ryuka raised her hands in a futile attempt to protect herself.

"Please, don't kill me! I'm sorry!" she begged.

Isuko immediately froze. He didn't felt like it was right to kill someone who was begging for her life. Killing as self-defence was fine, but not cold-blooded murder. As he began to lower his knife, Ryuka suddenly smirked and kicked his legs and made him tripped, before standing up.

"Ah, you idiot!" Ryuka exclaimed before running away.

Isuko rose up, angry, ready to chase after her.

"You little bitch, come back here!"

But she had already disappeared from his sight. He wondered if he should try to catch her, but he decided that it didn't worth it. She was just an insufferable asshole who didn't deserve his precious time. He regretted to not have killed her when he had the chance.

He really hoped her punch didn't leave a mark on his beautiful face. Because if it did, he'll find her back and kill her for real this time.

He left the area, wanting either to find back that girl and made her pay or find a way to win this insane game.

* * *

"Love, responsibilities, liars, injustice, monsters, delicious foods, scums, annoying people," they said, reading the answers they received from the targets, grinning. "Well, it gives me a good idea of what kind of people they are. Interesting. I can't wait to see how other encounters between them will play. It didn't start good between Inukai-san and Kenshi-san, but let's see for the others. It should be quite an interesting show. Hehehe."

* * *

 **So that was it for the first official chapter. Did you like it? Please let me know in a review your thought! Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 2: All humans are equal in

Haru took a deep breath. She felt terribly nervous. She knew her son was probably in danger, and he wasn't the only one. Sumireko's daughters were probably in the same situation as him. Why? Was it related to the clan?

"Haru?"

Haru came back from her thought when she heard Tokaku calling for her. Her lover was looking at her with concern. They were both in front of a modest house. Haru wasn't sure if she had the right address. Knowing the owner, she was expecting a mansion. She sighed, before knowing at the door.

After a couple of seconds of waiting, someone came to open the door.

"Oh, Haru-chan, Azuma-san! We've been waiting for you, you're the last one to arrive. Come on in," Haruki told them.

"Haruki-san? Isn't Hanabusa-san house?" Haru asked.

"I was invited, just like you and everyone else. She's in the living room right now, busy with the others."

Despite her confusion, Haru went inside, followed by Tokaku. Haruki led them to the living room and Haru was surprised to see everyone. All old Class Black members were there, except Nio. Last time Haru saw them all was during the 10 years Class Black reunion, and it was a while ago. Everyone was so much older now. Shiena was sitting on the couch in her laptop in front of her, and everyone was gathered around her.

"Oh, Ichinose-san, you are finally here. It is worst than I thought. It is not only your son and my daughters who disappeared, but all our children also did!" Sumireko said.

This was indeed worst than she thought. If every Class Black's kids have disappeared, then it confirmed Haru's suspicion. This had to do with the clan.

"Um, I know it's not the time to ask but… like, why your house… so small? Aren't you rich?" Isuke suddenly asked.

"I renounced to my heiress title and decided to open my own tea house with my wives. It is a much more modest life, but also much more fulfilling," Sumireko replied.

"Ah, weirdo… I would never give up on money ~"

"Now is not the time, our children may be in danger!" Kouko suddenly said.

"I tried to hack the town's surveillance camera, but I found nothing," Shiena said. "But I received a weird email with a link in it."

"Open it!" Kouko said, almost as an order.

Haru and Tokaku joined their old classmates. Haru looked at the laptop screen as Shiena opened the link. It seemed to be a video… of a jail?

It was a live broadcast of their kids' survival game.

* * *

Chidori calmly walked through the jail. She hadn't met any prisoner yet, but she wasn't worried. It wasn't because she was confident in her skills, but because she had been trained to shut down her emotions. She didn't feel any fear right now. She didn't even remember the last time she felt fear. She wasn't even sure if she ever felt that emotion.

Her tranquillizer gun hidden in her pocket, Chidori was ready to defend herself if needed. She spotted a door and carefully approached it. She pressed an ear against it, and heard nothing. If must be an empty room. Maybe there was something useful behind it. Chidori grabbed the handle and slowly opened the door, before looking inside. It was indeed empty. Not only there was no one inside, but there was also nothing inside.

" _I should still go look inside, maybe there's something hidden,_ " she thought.

Chidori entered the room and started looking around, in case there would be a trapdoor or a secret passage hidden there, or even an exit. She found no such things. When she was about to turn back, she suddenly heard the door close. Her heart missed a beat. She immediately turned back, and discovered that she wasn't alone anymore.

"Aww, but what a little kid such as yourself is doing here?"

There was a girl with brown hair in the room. Her nose was reddish and there was some dry blood under it, like she had been punched recently. She was smiling at her, but Chidori knew it was fake. She knew enough liars to recognize one. This girl had a dangerous vibe, a similar one as her. The scent of a killer.

"Are you afraid? Do you want onee-san to comfort you? Don't worry, I'll take care of you, you can trust me."

"First of all, I'm not a little kid, and secondly, do you think I'm dumb enough to fall into such an obvious trap?" Chidori replied coldly.

The brown haired girl smile became much more sinister.

"To be frank, yeah, I thought you would be much stupider since, well, you look like a small child. Kids are dumb after all. But I guess I was wrong about you. Well then, I guess there's no point in keeping my mask with you…"

Chidori had a bad feeling. The other girl started walking towards her, but stop when they heard a ringing. Chidori realized it was her phone, and not only hers. The brown haired girl pulled out her phone and check it. Chidori did the same with hers. She had received a text message from who she thought was the mastermind.

"All humans are equal in _" she read.

Both girls looked at each other and answered at the same time the answer a killer would certainly know better for this riddle.

"Death."

The brown haired girl grinned as she put away her phone, which Chidori did too.

"You're a target, just like me. Which means you worth 10 points. You see, I have a wish I really want to be granted, so if you don't mind, I'll make you 'equal'. Whether it's quick or slow is up to you."

"Wow, you really like that typical villain-ish act don't you? Trying to act so smug and powerful while actually, you're just taking advantage of your strength to overpower the weak. You're nothing more than a bully."

The other girl suddenly stopped smiling. Her look was gloomy and she seemed much more threatening.

"What did you call me?"

Chidori instinctively recoiled, while the other girl made few steps towards her. Chidori suddenly reached the wall, she was cornered. The brown haired girl was now right in front of her, staring at her aggressively.

"I'm not a bully."

"Well, you sure do act like one," Chidori replied.

She didn't have the time to regret her words that the brown haired girl suddenly grabbed her neck, starting to strangle her. She was expressing true anger. Despite the life-threatening situation, Chidori managed to keep her composure. She had been trained to react to this kind of situation. Despite the pain, she calmly grabbed the tranquillizer gun and shot her assaulter.

The other girl continued to strangle her, until she started to lose her strength. When Chidori felt her grip weakening, she immediately pushed her away. Her opponent staggered a little, before collapsing on the floor. But she was still conscious and furiously glaring at her.

"You… you little shit! What did you do to me!?"

She stretched her arm, like she was desperate to reach Chidori. The smaller girl simple recoiled, and the other girl's arm fell, probably losing her strength.

"Don't worry, I didn't poison you. You're going to sleep for a while. Hopefully, no one will kill you during your sleep."

"You bitch! I'll fucking kill you! I'll gouge your eyes, I'll stab the shit out of you, I'll…"

Those were her last words before she lost consciousness. Chidori sighed. Looked like she avoided some trouble. She walked towards the door and opened it, ready to leave. She looked at the other girl. Leaving her like that was really endangering her life. Not that she really cared, but she still felt the need to do something for her. So she closed the door, hoping that it would be enough to hide her from people who might try to kill her until she wakes up, and walked away from the room.

* * *

Sayo was walking fast in the jail, firmly holding her baseball bat, ready to smash anyone who might attack her. She wasn't afraid to encounter someone, she was pretty confident in her capacities.

Right now her main goal was to find her sister and "get the fuck out of there".

She turned at a corner and almost collided with someone. The other person seemed to have good reflexes since they quickly dodged them. Sayo brusquely stopped and raised her baseball bat, ready to strike.

She stopped when she realized it wasn't a prisoner, but she didn't lower her weapon. In front of her was a tall boy with short purple hair, golden eyes and a feminine appearance. He looked rather pissed so Sayo remained on her guard.

"Get out of my way! I have a bitch to catch and fucking kill," he said.

"So you intend to kill huh… You want to participate in this twisted game."

Sayo didn't like him. If he was willing to kill, he could be a threat. She didn't want him to encounter Mitsumi and possibly hurt her, or worst.

"I can kill if I want, don't get in my way or you're next!" the boy replied.

"You talk big, but I'm sure ya never killed before. Well I did, with this very bat. I smashed some bastard's head with it," Sayo retorted with a grin.

The boy's attitude changed. He wasn't as hostile anymore. He didn't look afraid, but he did seem a little bit worried.

"Crazy bitch," he replied.

"Lemmie show ya how crazy I am!" Sayo said as she rose her weapon.

Her phone suddenly rang. And it seemed like it was the same for the boy's. He pulled out his phone. Sayo lowered her baseball bat and took out her phone, to discover she received a message text.

"Pff, there's nothing that can make all human equal as long as I, Inukai Isuko, exist," the boy said and he typed something.

So his name was Inukai. And he sounded like a narcissist. Sayo really didn't like him. She looked at the message she received. It looked like a riddle.

" _All human are equal in… huh… hunger? We all can yet hungry and when we're hungry we all gotta eat…_ " Sayo thought as she replied hunger to the riddle, before putting away her phone.

Isuko put his phone away, before glaring at her. He then pulled out a hunting knife.

"Listen, I have no time to lose with you. If you insist on being in my way, I'll kill you. And get those sweet 10 points," Isuko said coldly.

"So ya really are participating huh… so I shouldn't feel bad about killing a potential murderer such as ya!"

Sayo raised her baseball bat and tried to hit Isuko, but he easily dodged it and attempted to stab her. Sayo avoided his knife, but he stroke again and managed to cut her on her belly. But it wasn't deep enough to be serious. Sayo recoiled a little and quickly swung her bat, this time targetting Isuko's weapon. She managed to reach the knife and disarmed her opponent. As soon as Isuko was weaponless, she tried to hit him again. Isuko reacted quickly by kicking her hand, disarming her. They were both without weapon now.

"Well, looks like I'll have to beat the shit out of you with my fists!" Sayo exclaimed.

"Don't underestimate me, I have been trained to fight this way! I don't need a weapon to murder you!"

They both exchanged hits, trying to punch and kick each other. Isuko was dominating the fight, he was clearly superior when it came to fighting skills. Sayo received a couple of hits, but she remained on her feet. She was sturdy after all. He may be a better fighter, but Sayo was confident in her physical strength.

When Isuko tried to punch her again, she grabbed his fist. He tried to break free but Sayo's grip was too strong. He tried to hit her with his other fist but she grabbed it too with her other hand. She then started to push him. He resisted and tried to push her back, but Sayo was stronger than him. She grinned madly when she realized that, while Isuko started to look afraid. She started to move, forcing her opponent to recoil. She then suddenly pushed him and released him, and he lost his balance and fell. Sayo quickly retrieved her baseball bat and right when Isuko was back on his feet, she didn't let him the time to do anything and she swung her bat and hit his head.

Isuko let out a painful groan before collapsing, hitting the wall. He was now sitting on the floor, leaning on the wall, seemingly unconscious, blood coming from his scalp. Sayo approached him, holding her weapon above her head, ready to finish him off. But as she was about to strike, she suddenly froze.

She couldn't do it. She couldn't kill him. She thought she could because she killed that man when she was a kid, but the situation was just not the same. She simply couldn't kill someone who was defeated.

She lowered her weapon and turned back, and as she heard Isuko mumbling incoherent words, she ran away, still determined to find her sister and escape with her.

* * *

Alone in their secret room, they were checking their phone to see the answers to their riddle. Not everyone answered, but most of those who did find the right answer.

"No matter if your rich, poor, pretty, ugly, young, old, all humans are equal in death. They all die and their body rot and decompose, returning to the earth," they said with a grin, before they read a different answer. "Hunger huh… interesting. Riddles can have multiple answers after all, and it always reveals the true nature of people. I can't wait to see what will be their answers to my other riddles."

* * *

 **I intend to write the 10 years reunion as a one-shot eventually. Right know the AnR original cast must be in their forties.**


	4. Chapter 3: The most powerful emotion

"Was that your daughter?" Chitaru asked.

Shiena looked away, seemingly embarrassed. The parents had all witnessed the incident between Ryuka and Chidori.

"W-Well not officially, but I am her legal guardian. But I swear, she… she's not like that at home! And at school, she's a decent person…" Shiena defended.

"Not only your girlfriend is a psychopath, but your kid is too. Are you a psycho magnet or what?" Isuke taunted.

"Hey! Ryuka is not a psychopath! She's… sociopathic..."

"Oh, excuse me, she's a sociopath. Because that's so much better…," Isuke added.

"... yes. Unlike Otoya, she… she can change. I hope so," Shiena replied, uncertain before she turned back to her lover. "No offence."

"None taken," Otoya replied with an amuse smiled.

"Hm, well you're not entirely wrong, psychopaths are born while sociopaths are made. Since she's not an adult yet it's not impossible for her to change, but… well, I guess all I can say is good luck," Suzu commented.

"Thanks… I guess?"

"Hey, who's that bitch!?" Isuke suddenly exclaimed.

The parents focused back on the screen, where Isuko and Sayo were fighting. They all witnessed when Sayo knocked out Isuko and then ran away.

"Isuko!" Haruki exclaimed, worried.

"I would like if you refrain to call my girl a bitch please," Sumireko replied.

"So it's your daughter!? She attacked my son!" Isuke accused aggressively.

"Huh? It is your son who started," Sumireko argued.

"She hit him with a baseball bat! He might be dead… !"

On the screen, Isuko weakly rose up and started to walk away, staggering a little.

"See? He is totally fine," Sumireko added.

"No he's not! He might have brain damage because of your bitch daughter…!"

"I told you to not call Sayo a bitch!"

As Sumireko and Isuke looked like they were about to fight, Haru immediately got between them.

"Stop! It's not the time to fight, our kids are in danger!" Haru protested.

Isuke looked like she was about to get violent anyway, so Tokaku intervened.

"You better calm down or I'll make you quiet," the blue haired girl threatened.

Isuke stared at her angrily, before recoiling a little. The parents then looked again at the screen, worried for their children and wanting to know what was going to happen to them.

* * *

She could hear voices coming closer to her. Ryuka slowly opened her eyes and let out a groan. Her body hurt a little as she stayed on the floor for God knew how long. She rubbed her eyes and hardly stood up, still feeling a little dizzy. What was she doing on the floor? She suddenly remembered and clenched her fist, immediately overtaken by pure anger.

" _That little shit… I'm going to fucking kill her!_ "

The door suddenly burst open. Three people, two men a one women wearing prisoner outfit, entered the room. When they saw Ryuka they grinned, giving off the vibe of a group of predators who had spotted a lonely prey.

"Well well, what do we got there… you're not one of us, you're one of them, the targets," one of the men said.

"Which means that if we kill you, we'll be freed," the woman said.

The second man suddenly went closer to Ryuka, his arm raised in front him as if he wanted to grab her. When he was right in front of her, before he could actually touch her, Ryuka quickly took out her pencil and stabbed him in his stomach. The prisoner coughed up blood, gazed at her with confusion, before collapsing to the floor. The two other prisoners looked shocked before they stared at her furiously.

"You bitch!" the man shouted.

Ryuka was more than angry now. She was enraged. She could feel the blood on her hand, and she wanted more. She just wanted to kill so badly right now.

"You're gonna pay for this!" the woman exclaimed.

The prisoner rushed towards her, but before she could raise a hand on her Ryuka quickly punched her in her belly, and when she was bent in pain, Ryuka stabbed her in the throat. The woman spat blood on her face, before falling to the floor. The third prisoner suddenly shivered in fear and turned back, but before he could run away Ryuka grabbed him from behind and made him tripped. She then straddled him, pinning him to the floor.

"P-Please, don't kill me! I'm sorry!" he pleaded.

But Ryuka was not interested in his begging. She was just too pissed, she wanted blood, she wanted to kill. She stabbed the man in his shoulder, making him scream in pain, before continuing to repetitively stab him in his chest. His blood splashed all over her as she continued to butcher him, letting out all her frustration and rage on the prisoner.

"Die you fucking scum! Just fucking die!"

Ryuka then suddenly grinned and giggled madly as she stabbed the man right in his eyeball. He let out one last cry of agony before his body went limp, his only valid eye wide open. Ryuka's grin grew wider as she removed the pencil, the eye coming out with it. She felt an intense feeling of satisfaction, she was exalted. Gosh, she really the feeling of killing. She grabbed the bloodied eye and removed it, throwing it away.

"..."

Ryuka heard someone breathing. Thinking that it might be another prisoner, she rose her head, ready to just murder someone else. But she froze when she saw who it was.

"... Yuki-chan?"

A girl wearing a similar uniform as her, with long blue hair, light green eyes and glasses, was in the doorframe, looking at her emotionlessly but with what appeared to be fright in her eyes.

"Kenshi…?"

Yuki started to recoil, while Ryuka stretched her arm in a futile way to prevent her from leaving. Her classmate then turned back and ran away. Ryuka immediately rose up and went after her.

The two girls were running in the corridor, Yuki trying to escape. But she was slower then Ryuka. She knew that her classmate wasn't very athletic, and it showed. Ryuka caught up with her and pushed her, making her fall and then pinned her on the floor. Yuki simply froze, not even trying to fight back.

"Yuki-chan, I can explain…"

"You… I saw you… killing those prisoners…"

Ryuka realized that it would be complicated to get herself out of trouble. There wasn't a lot of ways to come clean, especially if Yuki witnessed her killing. And Ryuka felt that telling her that they were just prisoners wouldn't work. She could also just kill her, but she kind of like Yuki so she would prefer to avoid that. There might be a way to soften the situation, a tactic that usually works very well. Ryuka took a sadden expression and focused on her eyes until tears started to roll from them. She was really good at crying at will and never hesitated to use it at her advantage.

"Yuki… I'm really sorry. I know what I did was wrong, but… they attacked me. I was so afraid, I… I just wanted to protect myself. I went too far I know, but I was just so scared, I lost control and… killed them…"

"Kenshi… I saw you… laugh…"

"It was a nervous laugh!"

Yuki looked at her like she was unsure, but it was hard to get her expression, she had her usual stoic look. Only her eyes showed emotion, and Ryuka was bad at guessing. Yuki just looked… confused.

"Okay… I believe you. You can… let me go now. Please. You are hurting me."

"Oh… sorry about that."

Ryuka let go of Yuki and helped her to stand up. She let go of her and to her relief, Yuki didn't try to escape. Then suddenly, both their phone rang. Ryuka took out her cellphone. It was once again a text message from that creep, whoever was behind this game.

" _What is the most powerful emotion,_ " she read.

The satisfaction of taking another person's life? That would be her answer, as she typed 'killing'.

"What did you reply?" Yuki asked.

"Huh… satisfaction. What about you?"

"Hm… the most powerful emotion… I don't know. I never experience powerful emotions myself so I'm not sure."

Ryuka wasn't surprised. Yuki always appeared so emotionless, she even doubted sometimes that she had actual emotions.

"So you got kidnapped too to participate to this game huh… I wonder why us," Ryuka said.

"I wonder too, maybe it's related to our school?"

"I don't think so, I saw students from other schools…"

"Really? Where are they?"

"... they tried to kill me so I ran away," Ryuka claimed.

"Oh… sorry to hear that. Well, I don't intend to try to kill you, so you don't have to be worried. We can travel together."

"Yeah… how comforting. But sure, it would be safer if we stick together. Do you have anything to fight?"

Yuki showed her her bag and opened it, revealing that it was full of explosives.

"Hm, could be useful. Now let's go, let's try to wi- find a way out."

The two classmates started walking, Ryuka wondering how she could win the game now that she was with Yuki. Hm, maybe it was for the best. After all, her guardian wouldn't want her to kill anymore. And who knows, maybe she'll win with her three kills.

* * *

Aki hid behind a wall, panting. He had been running for a while now, trying to escape from his pursuers. He gasped and suddenly heard footsteps approaching him.

"Where are you, cutie boy! If you surrender we promise we'll kill you quickly and painlessly."

Aki clenched his hand around his weapon, waiting hiding behind the wall as the footsteps came closer. One of the prisoners turned the corner and stared at him, smirking.

"Found you-"

Aki quickly reacted and pressed his taser on the prisoner's chest, before activating it, electrocuting him. The prisoner let out a cry of pain, before falling, inert on the floor. Alerted by the noise, the other prisoners that were chasing him, three other men, found him. They quickly surrounded Aki, who had no other choice than defending himself. The three prisoners tried to attack him, but Aki dodged their attacks and punched one in the face, tase another one, then kicked the last one. The one he used his taser on was unconscious on the floor, and so was the one he punched. Then was only one left.

"You're stronger than you look, little boy. Good. It will make killing you so much more fun!"

The prisoner rushed towards him, fist-raising, but Aki was faster. He dodged his punch and pressed the taser on his belly, electrocuting him. The man froze for a moment, before collapsing on the floor.

Aki gasped to catch up his breath. He was a strong fighter, he had been trained by one of his mothers, so defending himself wasn't too hard.

His phone suddenly rang. He took it and looked at what it was. The same sender as before with their riddles…

" _What is the most powerful emotion."_

He knew the answer. It was the same he gave for the first riddle.

" _Love,_ " he typed.

Aki put away his phone and continued to walk forward in the prison, still looking for an exit.

* * *

Chidori continued her advance in the prison, still holding her tranquillizer gun firmly. Luckily she had made no other encounter. She wondered what happened to that girl who attacked her. Was she still unconscious? Had she been killed during her sleep? Not that it really mattered. Whatever the outcome, Chidori won't have any more blood on her hand. That was all she cared about.

As she walked near a corner, she heard footsteps coming closer. Chidori stopped for a moment. She then continued to walk but slower, careful, holding her gun in front of her. As she reached the corner someone suddenly came out from there, holding a baseball bat, and she aimed at them. But she lowered her weapon when she recognized who it was.

"Sayo-san?"

The white haired girl, who had her weapon raised above her head, suddenly lowered it.

"Chi-chan?"

The two girls stared at each other for a moment, like they couldn't believe that the other was stuck in this game too.

"I nearly cracked your skull open! Watcha doing with that gun, is that a toy?"

"Tranquilizer gun."

"Huh? What a kid is doing with an actual weapon?"

"Hey, I'm not a kid!"

"But you're so small…"

"You're like, 5cm taller than me, that's not that much."

"I'm average, which means anyone shorter than me is a small," Sayo replied as she patted Chidori's head.

Chidori pouted, displeased with the fact her height was being mocked, and retaliate by grabbing Sayo's arm and pulling over, kicking her leg, and making her tripped on the floor. The older girl fell right on her back with a pained expression, before she suddenly laughed.

"Okay, I deserved it. You're pretty feisty huh… I like that."

Chidori felt her heart beating faster. She turned back when she felt her cheeks burning, not wanting Sayo to see her blush. Her phone then started ringing and she took it. Another message text from who she suspected to be the mastermind.

"What is the most powerful emotion," Chidori read.

She took the time to think about it. She wasn't emotional herself, she learned to shut down her own emotions and feelings at a young age, so she couldn't base her reply on her experience. Based on her observation, there was one emotion she was familiar to witness that was pretty strong.

"Fear," she said as she typed it.

She turned back and noticed that Sayo had stood up and was also on her phone.

"Same answer as the previous one, hunger," she mumbled.

"Hunger is not an emotion," Chidori said.

"Hungry then."

"That's… you know what, whatever."

Chidori dialled her house's phone number, but like the last time she tried, it didn't work.

"Watcha doin' ?" Sayo asked.

"Trying to see if I can call, but it seems that there's no connection. Well, at least to call outside the prison. Which means that whoever is sending us those riddles is here."

"Which means… if we find 'em we could stop this fucked up game?!"

"Perhaps… or we could just find the exit."

"Then how about… we try to find for either of 'em together?" Sayo proposed.

"I… yes, huh… why not. I don't see why we shouldn't."

"This way, I could protect you."

"Huh… I know how to take care of myself, but thanks… I guess."

Sayo grinned is a way that made Chidori blushed again. The younger girl turned her head so she wouldn't see her face as they both started to walk together, Chidori wondering why she felt so flustered each time she was in presence of this idiot.

* * *

"Hm, let's see what are the answers this time… huh, killing, hungry? Those aren't emotion… well, I guess it tells a lot about those two. Other than that, fear huh… I guess it's a valid answer. But the answer I was looking for… yes, someone said it. Love. One of the most powerful, if it isn't the most, emotions. With love, people can do so much, go further than their limit, change for the better or the worst or even accomplish what seems impossible. People are willing to go so far just for the sake of love. Such a strong and powerful emotion. Ah, I can't wait to see where their love will bring them and what they are ready to do for its sake!"


	5. Chapter 4: The power right under God

They all unanimously look at Shiena, who lowered her head in shame.

"'She's not like that at home, she's decent at school', huh…," Isuke taunted.

"S-Shut up… that was… self-defence!" Shiena defended.

Otoya was looking at Ryuka's carnage on the screen, with what appeared to be a proud smile.

"I'm not sure I'm comfortable about Yuki being with that girl," Kouko suddenly declared.

"I… I'm really sorry!" Shiena apologized.

"No need to apologize. I trust Yuki-chan's judgement, I'm sure she knows exactly what kind of person Kenshi-san is but choose to be with her regardless. Whatever her reasons are, I respect them, and I know she can defend herself if needed," Suzu declared.

"I mean, you're kind of right, but… I'm still worried for her," Kouko said.

"I swear Ryuka hasn't killed any of her classmates… in the last couple of years," Shiena said.

"That's certainly not comforting, Kenmochi," Kouko replied.

"Yuki-chan is cute, I'm sure Ryuka-chan won't hurt her ~" Otoya said with a grin.

"Please, refrain from calling my daughter cute or talk about her in such a familiar manner. Coming from you it's worrisome," Kouko told her.

Suddenly, a knock happened. Someone had hit the table with their fist. Everyone looked surprised when they discovered it was none other than Haru.

"Everyone, that's not the time to argue! Our kids are in danger, we need to find them and save them!" Haru exclaimed.

They all went quiet for a moment, looking at each other, some of them ashamed of themselves.

"I… I'm going to try finding the source of this video," Shiena nervously said as she started to type on the laptop.

The video changed and was now showing Isuko, wandering in the prison.

* * *

Isuko was staggering, feeling a little bit dizzy. His head was still hurting, but at least it had stopped bleeding. He had to support himself on the wall, walking close to it so he can press his hand on it.

" _That bitch…! If I find her, I'll fucking murder her! Her that other brown haired bitch!_ "

He had to stop for a moment, feeling like he was about to collapse. He was gasping, feeling exhausted. But then, he suddenly heard footsteps coming from the other side of the wall. Someone was coming closer. Was it a prisoner? Another target? One of two bitches? Regardless, Isuko wasn't in a state to fight, if this person was an enemy, then right now might be his last moment alive.

But Isuko wouldn't accept that without a fight. He tried his best to take a defensive posture, holding his hunting knife, ready to protect himself. A shadow appeared on the floor, the person was almost there. They turned the corner and Isuko raised his knife, ready to strike.

"Isuko-senpai?"

Isuko suddenly froze and dropped his knife.

"Aki… kun?"

His kouhai was in front of him, holding what seemed to be a taser. Isuko felt his mind weakening and lost his balance, falling. But before he could reach the floor, Aki caught him.

"Isuko-senpai, are you okay… but, you're bleeding!"

Isuko had his head pressed on Aki's shoulder. This closeness with him made his heart raced. Too embarrassed, he straightened up, trying to stand on his feet. He then got back his knife and put it away.

"Isuko-senpai…?"

"It's nothing, the blood is dry now. I'm fine. No need to worry about me…"

Isuko suddenly nearly fell again and Aki caught, helping him to stand by supporting him on his shoulder.

"You're not fine! What happened? You hit your head?" Aki asked, worried.

"It's that bit- girl, who hit me with a baseball bat."

"Huh?! Why would she do that?"

"Because she's crazy! And we're in a killing game, people trying to kill each other has to be expected, especially considering the reward."

"I can't believe it… people willingly trying to kill someone else, that is just… wrong. No matter the reason. I'm sorry for what you went through. We need to go somewhere else and take care of your wound."

Isuko blushed a little. Aki was truly a sweet guy. There was not a single drop of malice in him. Aki started to move, helping Isuko to walk, and they headed for a room. They found and door and opened it, to discover what appeared to be a storage room. Aki closed the door behind him and helped Isuko to sit near a wall, while he went to barricade the door with heavy objects. He then went back to his senpai and sat next to him.

"We should be safe here. Let me see your wound," Aki asked. "Lay on my laps so I can see."

Isuko felt his heart racing again. Lying on Aki's laps seem so… intimate. Nervously he leaned so his head could rest on Aki's thighs. It felt so warm and soft, so comfortable that he could simply fall asleep.

Delicately, Aki started to examine his head, gently brushing his hair around the wound. It was sensitive there, but Aki wasn't hurting him.

"Hm, it doesn't seem too deep. It probably won't need stitches, the blood is dry and started to form a scab. I can't say if there's internal damage, but the external wound is healing correctly," Aki declared.

Isuko sighed. The odd was that he would be okay. But he felt so weak, so exhausted, all he wanted to do was to nap.

Suddenly, his phone rang, as well as Aki's. He pulled it out and looked at it. Another riddle from the supposed mastermind.

" _Whose power is right under the one of God?_ "

Isuko could help but grin as he typed his answer.

" _Mine,_ " he wrote.

He put away his gun and yawned.

"Aki-kun… I'm really tired. I need to rest for a little."

"It's okay, you can sleep here. I'll protect you."

Isuko wasn't sure how he felt about that. His ego was kind of hurt to know that he would be protected by a boy younger and shorter than him. But at the same time, he did really need a nap and wanted to sleep on Aki's laps.

"Thank you," Isuko mumbled, closing his eyes, quickly falling asleep.

* * *

Aki looked at his phone and discovered a new riddle.

" _Whose power is right under the one of God?_ "

Aki took the time to think about this. All he could think of, was it love, respect, forgiveness, he personally thought it was above God. So he tried a more biblical answer.

" _Angels,_ " he typed.

He put away his phone and lowered his head, to look at Isuko who was now asleep on his laps. Aki couldn't help but run a hand in his purple hair, careful to not touch his wound. Isuko was usually so pretty, but when he was sleeping he looked so cute. Aki felt his body temperature becoming warmer. He really liked Isuko, he was his dear senpai. He always felt so happy when he was with him, he was an important friend to him but at the same time, he felt different with Isuko than any of his other friends and he wasn't sure why.

He wondered why Isuko was here too and what was the mastermind goal. He was determined to escape from here, with Isuko. He really hoped that his head injury was nothing serious.

Holding his taser, Aki was keeping an eye on the door, ready to defend himself and Isuko if someone tried to attack them.

* * *

Tsurugi looked around him, firmly holding his kendo sword. Surrounding him were a bunch of prisoners with threatening aura. He gulped, knowing where this is going to go.

Suddenly, all the prisoners rushed towards him. Tsurugi took a defensive stance, holding his weapon in front of him. He hit on the head the first prisoner that came closer to him, knocking him out. When another one was closer Tsurugi hit him in the stomach, before dodging a prisoner's attack. He managed to knock out a lot of them, before being punched in the face. He staggered and nearly dropped his sword. He then got kicked in his belly and he fell on one knee. He used his sword to get back on his feet and quickly swung it, hitting at least five prisoners. He continued to hit them with no pause, determined to render them all harmless. He hit another one and then kicked on that was trying to attack him. After several minutes of fighting, Tsurugi had succeeded to knock out all the prisoners.

He put away his kendo sword, panting heavily. He may be used to sword fighting, he never had to fight so many opponents at the same time. He ran a hand in his hair that had fallen on his forehead, sticky because of his sweat. Then suddenly, his phone rang. He immediately took it, discovering what he received.

 _Whose power is right under the one of God?_

He wasn't sure of the answer. Pretty much everything was under God's power, he couldn't think of anything higher. So was the answer 'everything'? He thought of another similar answer.

" _Humanity_ ," he replied.

He put away his phone away and thought about his sister. Was she okay? He had the feeling she was also trapped in this twisted game, and he needed to find her. He was confident that she could probably defend herself, but he couldn't help but be worried for her regardless. And if he could find the mastermind and stop this madness, it would be good too.

* * *

As they were walking in a corridor, Ryuka and Yuki's phone suddenly rang. They both stopped for a moment and took out their phone.

"Whose power is right under the one of God?" Ryuka read, before typing her answer. "Nothing. I don't believe in God in the first place."

"Hm, I don't think your answer should be based on your belief," Yuki suddenly said. "And the answer is obviously king."

"King? Why's that? Most kings and queens have no power anymore."

"Historically speaking, kings' powers were considered to be given by God, and the king's power was viewed as second after God's. So the answer must be king," Yuki explained.

Of course Yuki would know that. She was the best student in the class if it wasn't in the school, as well as class rep. All she did in her free time was studying and she was always listening in class, like the perfect little nerd she was.

"Well, who cares? That kind of stuff happened in the past, what's the point of such a dumb question?" Ryuka said.

"I don't know. Regardless, the past is important. We can't learn from our mistake if we only think about the present or the future."

Ryuka didn't like being contradicted like that. Made her want to hit Yuki. But part of her also respected her classmate and didn't want to hurt her. She felt so conflicted that she decided to stop talking and continued to walk, wondering if she'll be really able to control herself around Yuki.

* * *

The walls were painted in red. Corpses were scattered on the floor, their skull cracked open. In the middle of this carnage was Mitsumi, covered in blood and holding a bloodied rock. A twisted grin was on her lips and her eyes were screaming insanity.

"I killed them… those monsters that want to hurt Sayo onee-chan, I killed them… but it's not over. There are still more… and I'll kill them all!"

She let out a giggle that turned into a mad laugh. Then suddenly, her phone rang. Mitsumi stopped laughing and her expression became stoic. She pulled out her phone and looked at what she had received.

" _Whose power is right under the one of God?_ "

She immediately replied, convinced that her answer was the truth.

"The Devil," she replied. "The Devil that keeps sending monsters to hurt my sister."

* * *

"Let's see what are the answers this time… Mine? Not surprising from this narcissistic boy. Oh, angels… a really literal answer. Hm, humanity? Technically not false but still not the answer I'm looking for. Nothing? Looks like we have an atheist here. Ah, finally! King. Funny that it's not coming from the person I was waiting. I was expecting the 'king' of the game to find this answer. Well, it doesn't matter. I'm just glad someone found it. Now, what will be the next riddle I send them…"


	6. Chapter 5: can be bound by blood or soul

Ryuka and Yuki continued to explore the jail, walking cautiously until they reached a door at the end of a corridor. Ryuka took a step forward, but before she could reach the handle Yuki stopped her.

"There may be people inside, so we need to be careful," Yuki said.

Ryuka sighed. Why did Yuki need to be so cautious? If there were people inside, she would just have to kill them. Well, maybe it was for the best to avoid that outcome. She managed to excuse her murders once to Yuki, so she would probably not be able to do it twice.

Her classmate got closer to the door and pressed an ear against it.

"I don't hear anything… I think it's empty."

"Then let's go see what's inside," Ryuka said, impatient.

Yuki recoiled and Ryuka grabbed the handle, opening the door and stepping inside. There may not be anyone inside, it was far from being empty. In the corner of the room was a bed, and the rest of the room was occupied with shelves and counters with various medical equipment on them.

"An infirmary," Yuki commented.

"Too bad neither of us is injured, so everything here is pretty much useless," Ryuka said.

"I wouldn't say that- there must be useful materials here. We may not be injured now, but who knows what could happen later. We should take some supplies to be safe."

"Hm, do as you like."

Yuki opened one of the shelves and examined the contents, grabbing some of the items and putting them in her bag. She similarly investigated all the other cabinets this way, prodding around and taking anything she deemed useful.

Ryuka suddenly heard footsteps not too far away from where they were. Judging Yuki's sudden stiffness and expression, she must have heard it too.

"Stay here, I'll go see who it is," Ryuka commanded as she left the infirmary.

* * *

Tsurugi didn't encounter any other prisoners. He fixed his kendo sword at his waist, his belt keeping it in place. When he turned the corner, he ran straight into someone, though- a young girl who jolted back immediately.

"Well well well, if it isn't a stud with a pretty face. You must be pretty popular with girls, aren't you?"

It wasn't a prisoner, but a simple highschooler with short brown hair. She was smiling, but something about her eyes made him uncomfortable. And what she was claiming didn't help with his unease.

"Uh… who are you? And thanks… I guess."

"Kenshi Ryuka, and no need to thank me. It wasn't a compliment. I hate guys like you."

"Guys… like me?"

"The popular type. Those who think they can get everything they want because they are attractive. Shallow individuals who only care about appearances."

"I… I'm not like that at all…!"

"Well, since the nuisance isn't here to see me, might as well get an extra kill point. 10 points for a target after all!"

She didn't even allow him the time to react before she rushed towards him and threw a punch. Tsurugi recoiled back to dodge her attacks, but Ryuka's blows kept coming. Judging by her stance, she was very used to fighting. As she continued to attack him, Tsurugi only dodged and blocked her punches, never striking back, which seemed to infuriate Ryuka.

"Why the fuck are you only defending yourself!? Stop being such a pussy and fight like a fucking man! Do you have a problem with it because I'm a girl? You don't want to hit me because you think I'm inferior to you? Not only you're shallow, you're also a condescending piece of shit!"

Ryuka nearly hit him and instinctively, Tsurugi punched her in the face. Ryuka recoiled, her cheek flushing red. He immediately regretted what he had done.

"I'm… I'm sorry!"

Ryuka stroked her injured cheek, shock in her eyes, before a grin appeared on her lips.

"I can't believe that. You hit me! What kind of man are you, hitting a girl like that? You truly are a scum!"

"I… I didn't mean to, I swear…!"

Ryuka took advantage of his shame to kick him in the stomach. Tsurugi bent over from the pain, and Ryuka used his moment of lapse to draw her weapon: a simple pencil. She raised it over him, ready to plunge it into his back and be rid of him.

"Leave my brother alone!"

Ryuka immediately froze, Tsurugi recognizing the voice and feeling a wave of relief wash over him. He raised his head and discovered his little sister, with Sayo. Ryuka turned back to face Chidori.

"You… you little bitch! I won't forgive you for what you did to me, I'm going to fucking kill you!" Ryuka shouted in an indelicate screech.

Chidori immediately aimed what appeared to be a gun at Ryuka.

"I'm warning you, this time it's filled with poison. One shot and you're done. And I'm an extremely good shot," Chidori said.

Ryuka remained still for a moment, before raising her arms in a surrendered gesture.

"No need to get violent, I was just joking," Ryuka replied calmly.

"You tried to kill my brother. I should just kill you right now…"

"Whoa, chill out dudes! Nobodies' gonna kill anyone! There's no way I'd let something like that happen!" Sayo exclaimed as she stood between Chidori and Ryuka.

Ryuka lowered her arms and looked attentively at Sayo up and down while a smirk appeared on her lips.

"Dudes? What are you, a boy? If you want to talk like a man, why don't you just become one, huh? Well, maybe that's overdoing it. You're basically a man already, really." Ryuka jabbed, taunting her.

Sayo's expression immediately changed- she grew tense and shocked, her eyes widening. Without warning, her look changed to that of a fierce one, dropping her baseball bat next to her with a clatter, dashing towards Ryuka, grabbing her by the collar, nearly lifting her off the ground and raising her fist.

Tsurugi didn't understand Sayo's reaction. Despite her violent gesture, Sayo's look wasn't expressing anger, she seemed genuinely hurt.

"Are you… are you going to hit me or what?" Ryuka asked stoically.

Sayo didn't have anything to say to her, her body tensing up further, and surprisingly, starting to shiver.

"Sayo-san, look out!" Chidori shouted.

Ryuka raised her arm, pencil in hand. Sayo immediately dropped her and jumped back, pushing Ryuka away. She picked her bat up from the floor and rushed towards Ryuka, her weapon raised.

"That's enough! Everyone stop!"

Tsurugi noticed another girl with the same uniform as Ryuka, with long blue hair. They all stopped moving when they noticed what she was holding- in her hands were a bomb and a detonator.

"Yuki-chan…!" Ryuka exclaimed.

"If you keep fighting, I'll press the switch and kill us all!" Yuki threatened.

Everyone remained still as Yuki started to walk towards them. Silently, she stuffed the bomb in her pocket and grabbed Ryuka's hand, dashing away with her. They disappeared from their sight and nobody chased after them.

"Chidori, I was so worried about you!" Tsurugi said, relieved to have found his sister.

"I'm fine, onii-san. I just-"

Sayo turned and wordlessly walked away, still holding her baseball bat. Worried about her, Tsurugi followed her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Hanabusa, are you-"

She immediately slapped his hand away.

"Leave me alone!" Sayo snapped.

Tsurugi froze. Despite her sharp tone, Sayo's face only seemed sad. She then turned back and left, Tsurugi decided it was probably for the best to let her go rather than keep pressing her.

"I don't understand... did I do something wrong?"

"I don't think so… let me go talk to her."

Chidori went after Sayo, leaving her brother alone and in doubt.

* * *

Chidori arrived at a dead-end, where she found Sayo, sitting by herself in a corner. Her arms were wrapped around her legs and her head was resting on her knees. Chidori hesitated for a moment, wondering if she should leave her alone instead. But she was too curious and of course, too worried to simply step aside. She moved slowly closer to her friend and sat next to her.

"Sayo-san, what's wrong?"

Sayo raised her head and looked at her. She wasn't crying, but her eyes were a little bit teary. Her expression looked so hurt, but Chidori didn't understand why. She wanted to know- she was preoccupied about Sayo's well being, because even if she didn't want to admit it, she cared for her.

"Chi-chan… it's nothing. I don't think you would understand…"

"You can't know that if you don't at least try to explain it to me."

Sayo sighed and grabbed her head with her hands, staring at the floor. She looked much more afraid now.

"I just… don't want you to see me any differently. I'm scared that you might hate me if I tell you, or think I'm a freak."

"I don't think I can ever come to hate you, and I don't see how I would view you as a freak."

Chidori wasn't sure she understood how it was related to what happened- to Sayo getting mad at Ryuka's comment. It only made her more curious.

"What that girl said… it hurt you, right? How?" Chidori asked.

"It… it made me feel like I wasn't a real girl. Like I didn't pass as a woman…"

"I… I'm still not following. Of course you're a real girl, you don't have to prove anything. Sure you're a little bit tomboyish, but it doesn't make you less of a woman than any other-"

"You just don't get it! It's more than just being a tomboy. I… I was born differently than most other women. In fact, I wasn't even considered a girl when I was born."

"... Huh?"

"On my birth certificate... I'm considered a boy."

It took a couple of seconds for Chidori to grasp what Sayo meant. She had heard about people like that, but she never met any before. Despite her surprise, it didn't change her view of Sayo at all.

"So you are… I wouldn't have guessed," Chidori said. "I've always considered you a girl, and it's not going to change just because you were born differently."

"But can I really be a girl if I'm masculine? Shouldn't I act more feminine? Talk like my sister perhaps- all cutesy and proper, or wear makeup like she does…"

"I don't think there's just one way to be a girl. It's all just… about the way you want to be. A lot of girls aren't the picture of femininity, and it's fine for them- so why wouldn't it be okay for you? If you like it, and it's how you want to be, then why change it? You're as much a girl as any other. And if anyone thinks otherwise, they're wrong. Don't let anyone tell you who you are. Only you know that. And... I think you are perfect the way you are- no need to change just to please some idiots."

"Why… why do you accept the fact I'm a girl so easily…?"

"Because I trust you. If you tell me you're a girl, I believe you. There's no point for you to lie about that. To me, you're as much a girl as I am."

Sayo looked moved by those words, tears welling up from her eyes before she wiped them out, smiling.

"Thanks, Chi-chan!"

She suddenly hugged Chidori. She wasn't fond of physical contact, but she had to admit that this closeness with Sayo felt good. She was glad that Sayo felt better- and she was so beautiful when she smiled.

Sayo eventually broke the hug and stretched, before leaning against the wall. Her usual laid-back attitude was back, much to Chidori's relief.

"If it's okay to ask… is your sister the same as you?" Chidori asked.

"That… I can't answer. I ain't gonna talk about her personal stuff."

"Oh, okay…"

"But if you wanna ask me questions 'bout myself, feel free to. I trust ya."

Chidori was still curious about Sayo and wanted to understand her better, but she didn't want to be rude to her by asking inappropriate questions. But she had one in mind she thought wouldn't offend Sayo.

"How did you… realize you were a girl? Or did you always know?"

"Hm… well when I was a young kid I didn't really think about that. But it always felt weird when people referred to me as a boy- part of me knew it wasn't right. Then me and Mitsu-chan met one of our mothers. She's really good at sewing so she proposed to make us new clothes. I knew Mitsu-chan really wanted to wear a dress, but she was never allowed to wear anything nice at our old foster family. But she was too shy to ask, so I did it for her, for both of us. I knew she would be less shy to wear a dress if I wear one too. Don't get me wrong, I don't like dresses, but… for the first time, I was viewed as a girl by others. And it just felt… so much more right. It felt empowering. I was finally myself."

"You mothers… did they accept you?"

"Oh, absolutely! I mean, my uncle is similar to me, so it's not like it was something new for them. Though they didn't know right away. They discovered it when I had to… be hospitalized, for my eyes. The doctor kept referring to me as a boy, so my moms argued with him until he gave in and referred to me as a girl. They both always supported me and even helped me get the right medication- they always respected my identity and treat me as a girl. My name, Sayo… came from one of my mothers. A girl name. I didn't realize I was a girl back then, but getting that name pleased me. I thought it suited me, and it helped me realize who I truly was. I'll always be grateful to my sister and mothers for helping me accept who I am, and for supporting me."

Chidori felt relieved to know Sayo's family was accepting her, and she couldn't be indifferent when she heard about happy families. She herself valued her own family very much, so it was definitely something she could empathize with.

Suddenly, Chidori's phone rang. She took it out, already knowing what it was. But she was surprised that Sayo's phone hadn't rung.

"Sayo-san, your phone…"

"Hm? Lemmie check," Sayo replied as she took it out. "Oh, I don't have any battery anymore. Shit."

Chidori read the message she had received.

" __ can be bound by blood or soul._ " she read.

She thought about herself and Sayo and the answer seemed so obvious.

" _Family,_ " she typed.

Siblings could have been a good answer too, but it was part of a family so this answer seemed more complete. Her and Tsurugi were bound by blood, but their bond with their parents was from the soul. She knew it was the same for Sayo and Mitsumi.

Chidori put away her phone and suddenly rose up.

"We should go join my brother, he must be worried."

"Right! Um… thanks again, for listening to me and believe in me. It feels great to have someone outside my family who knows- someone who accepts me. But… keep it to yourself, okay? I don't want anyone else to know about that."

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me."

There was something else Chidori wanted to say, but the words wouldn't come out of her mouth.

" _You know… I would want to be part of your family,_ " she thought.

Chidori didn't dare to say it out loud, though, and they both turned back, heading for where Tsurugi was waiting for them.

* * *

 **I was really nervous to write this chapter, but I'm glad I did. To me it was something important that I wanted to do for a while, and I'm happy about how it turned out. I hope you liked it and please let me know what you think!**

 **ps: If this was in Japanese Sayo would have used the pronoun I "boku", which is more commonly used by boys, and it would have been what Ryuka commented on.**


	7. Chapter 6: Who's the Skull Crusher

The screen showed Sayo running away from Tsurugi, with Chidori eventually going after her. The scene cut to show Ryuka and Yuki running away.

"I… don't understand? Why was your daughter so mad?" Haruki asked.

"Let's just… not talk about it, okay?" Sumireko replied.

"It just makes me even more curious~" Isuke added.

"I said, let's not talk about it. Understood?" Sumireko insisted with a cold stare.

Isuke looked like she wanted to insist but Haruki gave her slight hit with her elbow on her arm, glancing at her. Her wife seemed a little bit upset but still gave up the topic, much to Sumireko relief, before she turned to Shiena.

"Kenmochi-san… I do not want to sound rude or anything, but perhaps would you consider… revising your daughter's education?"

Shiena stopped typing for a moment, looking down in shame.

"She's… not my daughter," was all Shiena could reply.

"But you are her guardian, right? She is your responsibility," Sumireko argued.

"It's… complicated."

"Kenmochi-san, she is clearly a bully."

This time, Shiena looked somewhat upset.

"No… she's not!" Shiena protested.

"You're spoiling her too much, she's acting like a real brat," Otoya suddenly said as she crossed her arms.

Shiena stared at her girlfriend with such offence after being basically thrown under the bus by her.

"Excuse me? You're the one who let her do whatever she wants! I'm the only one trying to actually educate her-"

"Oh, but I'm educating her too, in my own way… Anyway, the point is, our girl is a bully and we should correct her," Otoya said seriously.

"Please Takechi-san, do not pretend like you actually care," Sumireko said with a cold stare.

Otoya stared back, before smirking in such a smug way. Haru was fearing that they might fight, but Sumireko was too distinguished to actually giving in to provocation.

"Definitely, I'm not comfortable with her being friend with Yuki," Kouko added.

"ANYWAY," Shiena suddenly let out, "I… I'm almost done finding the signal of the video."

Haru began to have hope again. If they find out where this sick game was taking place, then they could save their kids, she could save Aki.

Knock knock knock!

Someone knocked at the door. Everyone looked at each other, wondering who it could be. Since no one was moving, Haru decided to go open. She was surprised to discover who was at the door.

"Hi hi Haru-chan! I see that everyone is there," Nio exclaimed cheerfully. "Doin' a little party without inviting me? That hurt…"

"Nio… our kids disappeared," Haru revealed. "They are trapped in some kind of twisted survival games in a prison."

"Oh… and here I thought you were having some kind of class reunion without me… that sounds much more fun than what I expected!"

Haru didn't have the time to reply anything to Nio's dark humour and insensibility that Shiena suddenly shouted.

"I found them!" Shiena exclaimed. "I know where our kids are!"

* * *

Walking back by Sayo's side, Chidori kept looking at her companion's free hand. The other was holding her baseball bat, but this hand was simply hanging there and was quite frankly so tempting to just grab. But Chidori was hesitating, a little bit ashamed by this desire, wondering how Sayo would react.

"Chi-chan? Is everything okay? You look tense," Sayo suddenly said.

"Ah? Oh, um… no, I'm fine. I was just wondering… if we could hold hands."

Chidori blushed immediately when she pronounced those words, embarrassed to have actually asked. Sayo looked surprised for a moment before a mocking smirk appeared on her lips.

"Oh, don't tell me you're scared? Ya think you're gonna get lost? That's so adorable," Sayo teased.

Chidori immediately pouted and looked away, upset and ashamed of herself to have lost her time asking the insensitive jerk Sayo was.

"Just forget about it, you dumm-"

Without warning, Sayo suddenly grabbed her hand, holding it softly in hers as she smiled kindly.

"Ya don't have to worry, I'm here with you. I'll protect ya," Sayo promised.

Chidori blushed even more at that statement, enjoying every second of her skin touching Sayo's. Much like she suspected, Sayo's hand was rough, she had calluses on her palm. Not surprising for someone who was used to hold a baseball bat. She herself had calluses on her hands due to archery, while her brother too because of kendo. But despite the roughness, this physical contact seemed soft and warm to Chidori, something she was longing for a long time.

Her phone suddenly vibrated. A little bit annoyed, Chidori decided to ignore it. It was probably just the mastermind sending her another riddle, and she had no desire to play their little game anymore. She was surprised that Sayo's phone didn't ring, before remembering that she didn't have any battery anymore.

They saw Tsurugi at the end of the corridor, waiting for them. He waved at them and Sayo wave back. Then joined him and he glanced at their hands. Chidori realized that she was still holding Sayo's end and became embarrassed, immediately dropping it.

"You're finally back!" Tsurugi exclaimed. "I was worried… are you okay, Hanabusa-san?"

"Yeah, I'm good now," Sayo assured.

"I'm glad! Uh, what did you two talked about?"

"Secret~" Sayo replied with a grin.

Chidori looked away so they wouldn't see that she was blushing again. A secret… she was glad that Sayo trusted her enough to tell her her secret, she felt honoured to be among the rare ones who knew. Only Sayo's family knew, which meant…

" _It's like I'm part of her family,_ " Chidori thought.

She then noticed that her brother was looking at his phone and understood why.

"The riddle?" Chidori asked.

"Yeah… Who's the Skull Crusher," Tsurugi said with some bitterness in his voice.

Cold sweat dripped from Sayo's forehead. Chidori remembered hearing that name before in the news.

"You mean… that serial killer infamous in our neighbourhood?" Chidori asked.

"Yeah, them… They bash their victims' heads until they break their skulls open. Hopefully, the police can catch them soon. If only I knew who they were, maybe I could do something…"

Chidori noticed how uncomfortable Sayo looked like. Instinctively, her eyes were attracted by her baseball bat as she remembered what Sayo told her earlier when they met.

" _I nearly cracked your skull open!"_

Chidori immediately shook her head, feeling silly.

" _There's no way Sayo-san can be the Skull Crusher!_ " Chidori reprimanded herself.

But if it was a riddle by the mastermind, then it must be somewhat relevant to the game. If she had to guess, one of the participants, possibly a target, was the serial killer. For now, she met that bully girl, her brother and Sayo.

" _Maybe it's that bully, she gave me the vibe of a killer…_ "

But she didn't know her name, she couldn't use it to reply.

"Sayo… onee-chan…?"

Sayo immediately turned back, and so did Chidori and Tsurugi. They all remained shocked by who said that, especially her current appearance.

"Mitsu-chan…" Sayo mumbled.

Mitsumi was standing in the corridor, covered in blood, her hair, usually so tidy, all tangled and messy. She looked at them with such a cold and empty gaze, but it slowly warmed up as she looked at her older sister.

"Hanabusa-san!? This blood... are you hurt?" Tsurugi asked, worried.

"Namatame-kun…" Mitsumi said softly.

The youngest Hanabusa twin started to recoil a little, tears in her eyes and a look of shame on her face.

"You… you weren't supposed to see that," Mitsumi whispered.

Chidori noticed that Mitsumi was holding something in her hand, a bloody rock, and understood the truth. Without thinking, she grabbed her phone and started writing an answer. Mitsumi turned back and ran away, vanishing from their sight.

"Hanabusa-san, wait!" Tsurugi exclaimed as he ran after her.

Sayo tried to do the same but Chidori suddenly grabbed her arm, preventing her from leaving.

"Chi-chan! I have to go, she's my sister-"

"Sayo-san, we need to talk," Chidori interrupted her. "About the Skull Crusher."

Sayo froze immediately with panic in her eyes. She then gazed at Chidori's phone and snatched it from her hands, most to Chitaru's surprise.

"Hey!" Chidori let out.

Sayo immediately looked at the phone screen and could read the single word Chidori had the time to type.

"Hanabusa," Sayo read.

Chidori remained silent, there was no need to hide it anymore. She wanted to talk about with Sayo anyway.

Much to her surprise, Sayo giggled. A maleficent grin appeared on her lips as she put her baseball bat on her shoulder, her other hand covering part of her face as she glared at Chidori.

"Ya guessed right, Chi-chan~" Sayo started with a gloomy voice, "I'm indeed the Skull Crusher!"

* * *

Isuko pulled out his phone when it started vibrating in his pocket. He knew it was probably another riddle by the mastermind, he was tempted to simply ignore it, but at the same time, he was too curious.

He pulled out his phone and looked at the screen.

"Who's the Skull Crusher?" Isuko read.

"Skull Crusher?" Aki wondered.

"No idea. I guess someone who bashes people's head," Isuko replied before he suddenly remembered something that angered him. "That baseball bitch! She hit me with her bat, I bet it's her!"

"Huh? The girl who hit you?"

"Yeah, dunno her name though. But I'm pretty sure she must be that Skull Crusher."

Isuko typed something and put away his phone and laid back on Aki's laps, still tired and dizzy.

* * *

"Hanabusa-san, wait!" Tsurugi shouted.

Mitsumi was still running away, chase down by Tsurugi. She was stopped when she reached a dead-end. She tried to go back and take another corridor, but before she could, Tsurugi blocked her path.

"Hanabusa-san!" he insisted. "What happened? Why are you covered in blood?"

Mitsumi looked like she was about to have a panic attack. It felt so surreal for Tsurugi to witness such expression of her face. He was so used to see her calm and gracious, always serene and elegant. She looked like a totally different person, but it was really her. Unless the Hanabusa's daughters were triplets, which he highly doubt.

"Namatame-kun… I'm sorry…"

"Why are you apologizing? I don't even understand what's going on!"

Mitsumi grabbed her head as tears started to roll on her cheeks, her body shivering. Tsurugi immediately felt sympathy for her and the urge to comfort her. He hesitated though, he didn't want to stress her even more. So he only took a few steps towards her for now.

"Please, explain to me. You can trust me," Tsurugi asked softly.

She was hyperventilating, as if she was trying to catch up her breath and calm down. Tears were still rolling from her eyes, but she had stopped to shiver.

"I… I had to, I didn't have a choice!" Mitsumi exclaimed. "They were going to hurt Sayo onee-chan, I had to stop them!"

"They? Who? Who was going to hurt your sister?"

"... Monsters. Demons from Hell."

Tsurugi remained quiet for a moment. Was it some kind of metaphor or was she serious? He noticed how dilated Mitsumi's pupils were, and this look of insanity in her eyes. Tsurugi didn't want to believe that she might be crazy, but she did seem quite unstable right now.

"What did you do? To those demons," Tsurugi asked.

"I… sent them back to Hell," Mitsumi replied.

Tsurugi clenched his fist. He knew what it meant, he knew the truth about the girl he admired so much. Yet, despite that, he couldn't come to despise her. She looked so vulnerable now and scared, he just wanted to comfort her gently. He got closer to her and softly took her in his arms, hugging her. Mitsumi sobbed in his arms and he gently rubbed her back.

"I'm so sorry… I fought them for so long that I became like them, I'm a monster…"

"It's okay, I'm not mad at you. You're not a monster nor a demon, I swear."

She hugged him back and they both shared a soft and tender embrace. Tsurugi felt his heart racing at this physical contact with his crush, the temperature seemed warmer suddenly. He wished this moment could last forever.

"Hanabusa-san, I lo-"

He then heard something hit the floor. He jolted a little and broke the hug, to see what it was. He discovered his phone on the floor.

" _Huh? How did it fall from my pocket?_ " he wondered as he crouched on the floor.

He grabbed his phone, but before he could rose up, he had a bad feeling. He raised his head and saw Mitsumi with her hand raised, holding a rather large bloody rock. He froze when he saw the cold, empty and deranged look in her mismatched eyes.

The last thing Tsurugi saw before he was hit by the rock and got knocked out was Mitsumi twisted grin.

* * *

After her phone rang Ryuka pulled it out and looked at the screen. Another riddle from the mastermind.

"Who's the Skull Crusher…?" Yuki read.

"Oh, that serial killer who break people's skull open?" Ryuka replied.

"Ah… well I suppose this person must be there, otherwise what would be the point of this riddle?"

Someone who broke people's skulls opened… They must have some kind of blunt weapon, like…

"A baseball bat!" Ryuka exclaimed. "It must be her, that big butch!"

"But Kenshi, I don't understand why you insulted that girl, aren't you masculine too?"

"Hey, I'm the right amount of femininity and masculinity, while she was… basically a boy."

"No matter how masculine a girl is, she's still a girl. You shouldn't make fun of people for who they are, it's not nice," Yuki reprimanded.

Ryuka wanted to reply something scathing to that, but decided not to. It didn't worth it to argue with Yuki, especially not about that girl. Ryuka typed an answer and then smiled the best she could.

"Thank you, for saving me earlier," Ryuka said.

"Ah, no need to thank me. I couldn't let a friend get hurt."

A friend huh… Ryuka wasn't sure if she liked that or not. She put away her phone and started to walk again.

"We should keep moving if we want to find an exit," Ryuka said.

"Yes."

As they kept walking, Ryuka truly wondered if she wanted to be friends with Yuki, or if her feelings for her were different.

* * *

Chidori stayed silent for a moment, staring at Sayo's attempt to look threatening.

"If you wanted to lie, you could have try something more convincing," Chidori said dryly.

Sayo removed her hand from her face and looked at her, surprised by her reaction.

"I… I'm not lying! I truly am the Skull Crusher!" Sayo insisted.

"As if you could kill anyone," Chidori replied.

Much to her surprise, Sayo clenched her fist, looking pissed. She took her baseball bat and pointed Chidori with it, which didn't impress the shorter girl at all.

"Oy, don't underestimate me, shorty," Sayo said in a threatening way before she grinned. "I killed a man with this very bat. I broke his skull open with only one hit…"

"Oh yeah? And what did this man did to deserve that?"

Sayo's expression became tense, she wasn't smiling anymore and looked tormented by something.

"He… hurt me and Mitsu-chan… he kidnapped us. It's his fault if I lost my eyes. So I killed him, to protect my sister and make him pay for what he did to us!"

Chidori stayed quiet. She did feel bad for what Sayo went through, once again she learned something from her past, but part of her doubted what she just told her. Something sounded odd to her, it didn't add up.

"That man… are you sure you're the one who killed him?" Chidori asked.

"What… of course it was me!" Sayo protested angrily.

"You said you lost your eyes because of him and that's why you killed him… Which means you were blind when you 'killed' him. So how can you be sure it was you if you couldn't see?"

Sayo looked even more tense. Judging by the look in her eyes, she was doubting it herself but didn't want to admit it, like she was living this lie for so long now.

"It was… me. It has to be! I swung the bat until I hit somethin' hard. It was his head, I'm sure of it! Then I heard screams and something hitting the ground. I killed him!"

"Screams?"

"Yeah, that man and Mitsu-chan."

"I see… you could have just hit the wall for all we know."

"Then who killed him!?"

"I think you already know the answer, Sayo-san."

Sayo looked in complete denial, refusing to see the truth.

"No! It was me! I killed him, I'm a killer-"

"I know how to recognize a killer when I see one, and you're not," Chidori interrupted her coldly.

Sayo froze for a moment, confused by Chidori sudden change of vibe.

"What… what do you mean… how could you know!?" Sayo protested.

"Because I'm a killer myself, and so is your sister."

Sayo remained speechless and shocked by this statement. She looked at Chidori with disbelief, as if she couldn't conceive what she just heard.

"You… a killer?"

"Well, 'was'. But I killed people in the past. I was part of an organization. Well, it's over now, I moved on from this life. But I still have to soul of an assassin, I can perceive my fellow killers. And Hanabusa Mitsumi is without any doubt a murderer."

"Please stop! Don't… insult my sister!"

"It's not an insult, it's the truth. Your sister killed a lot of people, that man was only her first victim. She's the Skull Crusher, isn't she? And you knew it. Which makes you her accomplice."

"I… I didn't know, I swear! I just… had a doubt. I saw her one night, coming back home with… blood on her. Then I heard on the news about the murder that happened that night… But I didn't want to admit that it was her. Mitsu-chan… is the Skull Crusher."

"Why didn't you do anything? By allowing her to continue, you are as responsible as her."

"I… I don't want her to go to jail… it's not her fault! She was… traumatized as a child, when she kills, she's not all there in her head, it's like… she's disconnected from reality. She can't control herself, she doesn't even realize what she's doing!"

"Then she'll go to an asylum, not jail-"

"It's not better! I don't want Mitsu-chan to go anywhere, I want her to stay with me!"

"But she's dangerous, she kills people!"

"I can deal with it! I'll set up traps, watch over her, and make sure she doesn't leave the house during the night. I'll make sure she doesn't kill anymore, I swear!"

"You can't keep that from your parents, you have to tell them. This is the right thing to do."

"And what do you know about the right thing to do, you murderer!?" Sayo suddenly shouted.

Chidori went quiet, while Sayo seemed to instantly regret her words. Tears started to roll from her eyes as she dropped her baseball bat and Chidori's phone that loudly hit the floor before she fell to her knees.

"Chi-chan… I'm sorry… I shouldn't have said that."

"It's okay, I'm not mad. I know what I am, I don't think I'm on the right spot to judge. I have so much blood on my hands, much more than you."

"I… I wanted to be the one who killed him so badly. I wanted to be the one bearing that sin, the one tainted by darkness. Mitsu-chan was supposed to be the pure one, the good twin, the one living in the light. She's so sweet and nice, polite, elegant, while I'm blunt and rude, rough, insensitive… it would make much more sense if I was the murderer. I should be the bad one, the evil twin!"

Sayo covered her face with her hands and continued to cry. Chidori did find Sayo a little bit pathetic right now, but she still had some sympathy for her. It wasn't like she couldn't understand why Sayo did that. She just wanted to protect her little sister. Chidori would have done the same for her brother. She took back her phone and finished to type her answer, before putting it back in her pocket.

Chidori softly pat Sayo's head to comfort her as the older girl continued to sob. Despite how strong Sayo looked, she also had a soft and more vulnerable side.

"You're not bad at all," Chidori said. "You're kind and selfless, you protect those you care about. Everything seems dark around you like the night, but you are as light as the moon, a gentle and comforting light that guides us in the darkness. My soul is dark, but when I'm with you, I can feel your light illuminate me. So please, don't put yourself down, you have more value than you give yourself credit for."

Sayo raised her head, her cheeks flooded with tears, but she looked move by what Chidori said. Chidori smiled softly and for a brief instant, Sayo smiled too, before she brusquely rose up, looking worried.

"Your brother!" Sayo exclaimed. "He's in danger, my sister might kill him!"

"My brother knows how to defend himself, he's a kendo master, and he has his sword with him."

"Don't underestimate my sister, she has extensive self-defence training."

"Really?"

"Our mothers… were kinda paranoid when it came to our protection. Anyway, we gotta go find him!"

Chidori nodded and they both ran in the same direction Tsurugi and Mitsumi went, in hope that they won't be too late to save him.

* * *

"Let's see the answers… hm, the crazy white-haired butch? The baseball bitch? Well, close, but they got the wrong Hanabusa- Oh! Hanabusa Mitsumi! Finally, someone who has the right answer. As cliché at it may sounds, she's the evil twin. What a plot twist though! Hopefully, I can get to see more interesting interaction among those kids, they are all so interesting to observe… hehehe."

* * *

 **Sayo means small night while Mitsumi means beautiful light. I thought they were good name for the SumiBanba kids.**


	8. Chapter 7: Green is the colour of

Tokaku was trying as fast as she could while being careful to not run into any other car. Sitting by her side was Haru, who was nervously hitting her thigh with her fingers, looking through the window.

"Can you slow down a little? You're driving dangerously," Nio complained.

"Our kids are in danger! We need to hurry!" Tokaku exclaimed. "And why did you come in our car? Didn't you come with one? You'll dirty my seat."

"Ouch, that's harsh. We already decided to minimize the number of cars going there, if we all took our car, there's more chance for our enemy to notice us," Nio replied with a grin.

That was right, that was the decision they had taken. Sumireko, Banba, Suzu and Kouko were in the second car, while Chitaru and Hitsugi were following them on a motorcycle.

"I know! But why have you chosen my car? Just to piss me off?" Tokaku accused.

"As if I would be that petty! I just wanted to be able to enjoy the show. After all, the laptop is in this car~" Nio replied.

Sitting on the back seat were Shiena in the middle, with Otoya and Nio each side of her. Shiena's laptop was on her lap, with Nio and Otoya looking at the screen with interest. Shiena looked uncomfortable, like she was a hare trapped between two wolves.

"Why are you even with us? It doesn't even concern you," Tokaku argued.

"Well, now that you mentioned the kids, my son hasn't returned home today," Nio confessed.

"Your son?" Haru asked.

"Yes, Tori-kun. The most adorable boy in the world!" Nio exclaimed with pride. "Also my heir. He's actually blood-related to you clan, Haru-chan."

"Ah, so is Aki-kun! Then it means… our sons are cousins," Haru realized.

"Hehe, looks like the Azuma and Kuzunoha are once again related," Nio declared with a smirk.

This statement seemed to annoy Tokaku, but she remained quiet.

"So you think your son was also abducted?" Haru asked.

"Hm, I'm not sure. I haven't seen him on the streaming, and it wouldn't be the first time he doesn't come home. He's quite the popular guy you see, he often spend the night at some people's house," Nio said with a smile.

"What a little rascal," Otoya said with a smirk. "I feel like I would like him."

"You have quite the rascal kid yourself, Takechi-san," Nio commented.

"Shiena-chan is the one raising her, I'm only giving her my support. Only Shiena-chan is Ryuka-chan's guardian."

"You… Oh shit!" Shiena suddenly exclaimed.

"What… what's going one!?" Haru asked, worried.

"... one of Hanabusa and Banba's daughter, the youngest twin… just knocked out Namatame and Kirigaya's son with a rock!" Shiena exclaimed.

"Hm, like mother like daughter," Nio said with a grin.

"I like her," Otoya commented, equally grinning.

"Oh my God, is he dead?!" Haru exclaimed.

"I… I don't know… she bringing his body somewhere, maybe he's just unconscious," Shiena said.

"Good thing neither Hanabusa, Banba, Namatame or Kirigaya are here to see that," Tokaku said.

"We need to hurry up, we need to save him!" Haru declared.

"I'm going as fast as I can't," Tokaku replied. "Anyway, if he's really in danger, we won't make it in time."

Haru clenched her fist. If they wouldn't be there in time to save Chitaru and Hitsugi's son, what about theirs? Will it be too late to save Aki? She refused to believe he could die. She was determined to save him no matter what, as well as the other kids.

But all she could do for now was to have hope in fate and faith in the children.

* * *

Isuko finally stood up and stretched before yawning, as he rubbed his sensitive head.

"I'm feeling better, we can keep moving," Isuko declared.

Aki rose up too. Despite his words, Isuko still felt a little bit dizzy and his head hurt, but he knew he couldn't continue resting. If he wanted to escape this twisted game, he had to find the exit.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Aki insisted with concern in his voice.

"I napped, I'm totally fine now. So let's go," Isuko pretended, forcing himself to smile.

Aki looked suspicious, but he didn't add anything. The two boys left the room and started to wander in the prison, looking for an exit while remaining on their guard, in case of a sudden prisoner's attack. Isuko's headache was making it hard for him to focus, he was even starting to have funny thoughts that made him giggle.

"Isuko-senpai, what's funny?" Aki asked.

"Nothing, I just remembered that I have an uncle named Aki."

"Huh, really? Why you never told me?"

"I just thought it would be weird that I had an uncle with the same name as my… friend."

"I don't think it's weird. It would be weird if you start calling me Aki oji-san," he joked.

"Please, don't say that! Don't but that thought in my mind, otherwise each time I'll think about you I'll think about my uncle!"

Aki laughed, while Isuko couldn't help but smile. Despite what he said, he wasn't particularly close to this uncle, so it was unlikely he'll think about him if he thought about Aki. He had so many uncles and aunts since his mother had so many siblings, so it was understandable that he wasn't close to all of them. The only aunt he was really close to was Fuyuka oba-san.

"Do you have any uncles or aunts?" Isuko suddenly asked.

"Hm? One of my parents was a single child, but the other had two brothers. Wataru oji-san and Natsuo oji-san. Unfortunately, they died when she was still a child so I never met them, but she told me everything about them."

"I see… sorry about that."

"Don't be, I never met them so I'm not sad. I wished I could have though. But without uncles and aunts, I have no cousins. And neither do I have siblings, so I must admit I was quite lonely as a child," Aki admitted.

Isuko couldn't relate to that. He may be an only child too, he has a lot of cousins. He grew up with lots of kids, and most around his age. He had never been alone, well physically. Mentally, he always felt lonely. He had a hard them bonding with others, Aki was the first person other than his parents he wanted to get closer to. This is why he highly valued his relationship with him.

"In the end, we were both lonely in our own way," Isuko mumbled.

"Huh? What did you say?"

"N-Nothing!" Isuko replied, embarrassed.

Aki didn't insist and they continued their way in the prison until they were about to reach a corner. Isuko immediately noticed a shadow on the floor, someone was about to turn the corner. He grabbed Aki's arm and made him stop, pointing to him the shadow. They both nodded at each other while standing their ground, taking a defensive stance.

A young man turned the corner, with short spiky lavender hair and wearing a school uniform. He was limping a little and had one hand on his head. Isuko immediately noted how ridiculous his hair looked, as well as the dowdy little bear accessory fixed to his belt. What an unfashionable man yet, with quite a handsome face that made Isuko somewhat envious and immediately dislike him. How such an unrefined boy could be prettier than him? Unforgivable!

"You two… you must be targets too," the new guy said. "So am I."

"Then, we have no reason to fight… right?" Aki said.

"Don't lower your guard Aki-kun, even if he's a target he could still attack us. Don't forget that targets can also win this game by killing!" Isuko warned.

"Wait, I don't intend to attack you! There's no way I would participate in such a twisted game!" the lavender-haired boy said.

"This is exactly what someone who wants to kill us would say!" Isuko insisted. "Aki, let's go!"

"Wait!" Aki protested. "I don't think he's lying, we should give him the benefit of the doubt."

Isuko couldn't believe what he heard. Aki was defending that guy? Why?! Was it because he found him pretty? Isuko disliked that thought. Aki was his, he had to get rid of this invader who intruded on his territory.

"I'm Namatame Tsurugi, and I'm trying to find the mastermind to put an end to this insane game," he declared before his face tensed with pain, still pressing a hand on his head.

Isuko noticed a red spot in his hair, most likely blood.

"I'm Azuma Aki… are you hurt?" he asked with concern.

Isuko was kind of annoyed by Aki's reaction, which made him even more frustrated at Tsurugi.

"You got hit on the head or something? Too bad it didn't fix your awful haircut," Isuko said.

"... what?" Tsurugi said, confused.

"Isuko… senpai?"

"Seriously, how do you style your hair? With a whole bunch of gel? This isn't hair anymore but spikes."

"... my sister styles my hair," Tsurugi replied.

"Oh."

Isuko remained quiet for a moment before he smirked in such a taunting way.

"Look at you, a big boy such as yourself, getting his hair done by his baby sister. What a loser you are-"

"Isuko-senpai that's enough!"

Isuko froze when he heard Aki exclaimed those words. Worried, he turned to look at his friend, who was pouting at him.

"You're being mean to Namatame-kun," Aki said.

"It's… it's okay, I'm not mad or anything," Tsurugi said.

Isuko clenched his fist with anger. Why was Aki defending that has-been? It was seriously pissing him off, but also, even if he didn't want to admit it, deep down it was making him sad.

"... sorry," Isuko said reluctantly.

"Namatame-kun, what happened to your head? Were you attacked?" Aki asked.

"... yeah… Someone knocked me out and I woke up in a closet," Tsurugi replied.

"Could it be a girl with long white hair?" Isuko suddenly asked, his head hurting as he remembered his encounter with that girl.

"... how do you know?" Tsurugi asked.

"Because that bitch knocked me out with her baseball too!"

"Don't call her a- Wait, that's not the same person, that's her twin sister," Tsurugi replied.

"What, there's two of them!?" Isuko exclaimed. "And both for them are crazy and smashing people's heads…"

Tsurugi clenched his fist, looking bothered by this statement as if he regretted what he revealed before he looked surprised.

"Her sister hit you?"

"Yeah! She fucking attacking me out of nowhere," Isuke claimed.

"Hm, that doesn't sound like Hanabusa-san," Tsurugi replied.

"Huh, are you doubting me? I get it, you're friend with her! You must be as crazy as her!"

"That's enough!" Aki suddenly shouted. "We're not enemy, we'll have victims and we should help each other, not fight each other!"

Isuko wanted to reply something rude but bit his tongue, not wanting to argue with Aki.

"Azuma-san is right, we need to work together if we want to stop this madness," Tsurugi declared.

"I don't care about stopping this, I just want to escape," Isuko replied.

"What about all the others trapped here?"

"I don't-"

Isuko suddenly noticed Aki's intense glare at him and went silent.

"Namatame-kun is right, we should try to stop this instead of just escaping. People's lives are at stake," Aki agreed.

Isuko clenched his teeth. Why Aki was acting all buddy-buddy with that guy? Why were they agreeing with each other on everyone? It was so annoying, Isuko's anger was boiling inside of him.

Suddenly, he heard a ring. No, three rings. They all took out their phone and looked at it, even though they probably all knew what it was.

"Green is the colour of…." Tsurugi read.

"Jealousy, right?" Aki replied.

Isuko froze when he heard that word. Jealousy… was he jealous? No, it can't be… Why would the great Inukai Isuko, superior human being, be jealous of such a loser? Unthinkable, ridiculous, impossible!

Yet deep down, he knew it was the truth.

Overtaken by multiple emotions and feelings, Isuko suddenly ran away, needing to put as much distance between him and the object of his jealousy.

* * *

When her phone started to vibrate, Yuki pulled it out, knowing perfectly what it was.

"Green is the colour of…" Yuki read out loud.

"Nature, right?" Ryuka replied.

"Hm, well green can have a lot of meaning. The color of life, renewal, nature, and energy, green is associated with meanings of growth, harmony, freshness, safety, fertility, and environment. Green is also traditionally associated with money, finances, banking, ambition, greed, jealousy, and wall street."

"Whoa, calm down, you walking dictionary! I get it, you're a nerd," Ryuka mocked with a smirk.

Yuki didn't feel offended in any way. After all, nerd meant someone who is intellectual but lacks social skills. It wasn't an insult per se nor was it false regarding her, so she had no reason to get upset over it. And even if Ryuka wanted to insult her, there was no point in getting angry. Getting overly emotional was simply useless, and she just couldn't bring herself to be. That was simply not in her nature.

"That is a long answer to type," Yuki said as she started to type.

"Wait, are you really gonna type that all? That's not a fucking exam, this is just some madman toying with us. No need to take that that seriously…. just pick one. Here, I'm gonna go with ambition," Ryuka said as she typed.

Yuki didn't listen to her and continue typing it all. If she wasn't sure which answer was the desired on, better right them all. More was always better than not enough. When she finally finished typing she put away her phone and rushed a little bit to join Ryuka, who had started to walk without her.

As they continued to walk, Yuki heard footsteps behind her. At first, she thought she was hearing Ryuka's footsteps, but she was right next to her.

"Kenshi… someone is following us."

"Yeah, I heard," Ryuka replied.

They both nodded at each other before suddenly stopping and turning back, Ryuka with her fist raised. The person behind them immediately stopped too, gazing at them with empty eyes. It was a woman with long white hair that was dishevelled, as well as her clothes, and she was covered in a thick red liquid. Instinctively Yuki recoiled a little, but Ryuka stayed still, glaring angrily at the white-haired girl.

"You again, you bitch! I'm gonna beat you up this time!" Ryuka declared.

Again… ? Yuki took a closer look at that girl's appearance and noticed that she looked familiar.

"Sayo… isn't it?" Yuki asked.

When she heard that name, the white-haired girl flinched, before she looked even more threatening.

"How do you know my sister's name?" the white-haired girl asked.

Sister… so she was that girl Sayo's sister, explaining the resemblance. Ryuka didn't seem to have listened to them and was still glaring at Sayo's sister with animosity.

"Let's go, Kenshi. I have a bad feeling," Yuki said, worried.

"Hell no, I won't leave, not until I beat that girl up!" Ryuka shouted. "Where's your baseball bat, bitch?"

"You… you want to hurt… Sayo onee-chan. Unforgivable… unforgivable… you're a monster, a demon… and I'll send you back to hell!"

Without warning, the white-haired girl rushed towards them, holding a rather large rock covered with the same thick red liquid. Ryuka reacted by getting in front of Yuki and pulling out her pencil. When Sayo's sister was about to hit her, Ryuka kicked her hand, making her dropped her rock. Ryuka grinned maliciously as she was about to stab the other girl. But before she could reach her, the white-haired girl recoiled enough to avoid the hit, grabbed Ryuka's armed hand and made her stabbed herself instead, right in the shoulder.

Ryuka immediately let out a cry, caused by this sudden stabbing pain. She dropped to her knees, her pencil still stick in her flesh, heavily bleeding. This thick, red liquid… Ryuka was left whining and sobbing on her knees, while the white-haired girl calmly picked back her rock.

"You… fucking crazy bitch!" Ryuka shouted. "Stabbing someone with a pencil, what the fuck is wrong with you!?"

Sayo's sister seemed unfazed by her insults and got closer to her, holding the rock, threatening. She raised her rock, ready to hit Ryuka on the head. Yuki immediately reacted by getting between them, trying to stop that girl's attack, but she was too slow. The rock touched her forehead.

But Yuki felt no pain. The rock was really touching her forehead, she could feel the roughness and also wetness against her skin. She realized that the girl must have stopped, only touching her lightly with her rock.

Yuki was overtaken by a strong emotion she wasn't sure how to describe. Her body didn't show any particular reaction, she was simply frozen. Her heart was beating so fast that it almost felt like it was coming out of her chest and she could feel sweat drop in her back. Was it… fear?

Her legs suddenly started to shiver so much that she also dropped to her knees, still frozen. The white-haired girl remained standing, gazing at her coldly without a single drop of emotions in her eyes.

"You… aren't a monster," she simply said, before she turned back and left the area.

Sayo's sister eventually disappeared from her sight. Yuki remained frozen, her eyes starting to get teary. For a second, she actually thought she was going to die. If this girl hadn't stop, she could have died. She escaped death by only a second, and because that girl decided to spare her. Her fate had been left in someone else's hands, for a second she had no control over her own life. And it terrified her.

Ryuka's groans of pain brought her back to reality and snapped her out of her trance. Yuki immediately rushed towards her friend who was wriggling on the floor. She had to do something to help her, if she left her like that she could die of blood loss.

Yuki took a deep breath. She knew what she had left to do.

* * *

"Green is the colour of…" Chidori read.

"Veggies," Sayo replied.

"... you really just think about food huh…"

"Huh, veggies ain't no food. Those are grass. I ain't a rabbit, I don't eat grass. I'm a wolf!"

"... so now I know your fursona."

"Wait, that's not- Anyway, it's not the time for that. We need to find Mitsu-chan and your bro!"

"Right, but I continue to think onii-chan can defend himself just fine."

"Don't underestimate my sister! This is how she got a body count to begin with."

"Fine… I can't guarantee you I'll be nice with her if she hurt my brother," Chidori warned.

"... I understand…" Sayo replied, clenching her fist.

They both silently continued their way in the prison, looking for their respective siblings.

* * *

"Let's see the answer… oh, jealousy. Seems like we got one jealous guy here, hehe. I was expecting 'money' from him, but I guess he's not in the mood to play. How sad. Well, we also got… ambition. Hm, that's a good one. Whoa, someone just sent me an entire definition, Fine, you got 100/100, but I would have preferred just one meaning. After all, it can reveal a lot about the person's personality. But I suppose her giving them all do say a lot about her personality. And… nature. Pretty straightforward. Hm… not a lot of answer this time, I guess they are pretty busy. But I still have one last riddle for them, and this time, I'm pretty sure they will all work really hard to solve it. Hehehe…."


	9. Chapter 8: Flower inside of you

**warning: homophobic slurs are said in this chapter**

* * *

"Shit!" Shiena exclaimed.

"What's going on?" Haru asked, worried.

"Hanabusa's daughter stabbed Ryuka," Shiena replied.

"Hm, since she's there she keeps getting her ass beaten, I'm a little bit disappointed," Otoya commented.

"Our daughter was stabbed Otoya!"

"So you admit she's your daughter," Nio said.

"I… It doesn't matter! She's hurt, Azuma hurry up!" Shiena commanded.

"I understand how you feel, but I'm already going the fast as I can," Tokaku replied.

"Is Ryuka-chan going to be okay?" Haru asked with concern.

"She was stabbed in the shoulder, so she should be fine," Otoya replied.

"Damn Hanabusa… she dared to lecture me about my kid yet hers is no better," Shiena mumbled bitterly.

Haru could sympathize with Shiena. She too was worried about her child. She wanted to arrive as soon as possible to rescue Aki and all the others before it was too late.

"We're close… turn right Azuma!" Shiena said.

Tokaku did as she was told and turned right, continued to drive until she reached some rather large building.

"You can stop," Shiena told her. "We arrived. Our kids are in there."

* * *

"Ouch! That hurt you bitch! Don't touch me!" Ryuka yelled.

She was curled up against the wall, shouting at Yuki like a hissing cat. She even almost growled at Yuki. She was just like a hurt animal, all fearful and defensive. Yuki kind of find that cute.

"Kenshi, I need to remove the pencil. The wound will get infected. Let me help you."

"But that hurt so much! I don't like pain! Be more gentle!"

"I'll do my best to be gentle. That still going to hurt, but please bear with it, okay?"

Ryuka clenched her teeth before she weakly nodded. Yuki grabbed the pencil and delicately started to remove it. Ryuka moaned in pain and tried to push back Yuki, who dodged and continued to pull out the pencil. Ryuka was gasping in pain as Yuki finally removed it all, the wound now bleeding heavily. Ryuka was left teary as Yuki immediately pressed a heap of tissues against her injury.

"Keep that pressed," Yuki said.

Ryuka, despite the heavy pain, obeyed and hold the tissues against her wound, stopping the bleeding. Yuki looked inside her bag for the first-aid tools she got, glad that she had decided to take them with her. She grabbed the bottle of disinfectant and dropped some on another tissue before she turned towards Ryuka.

"Remove it. That may hurt a little, but it's for your good," Yuki said.

Reluctantly, Ryuka removed the tissues and Yuki pressed hers on her wound. Ryuka immediately let out a cry of pain as her body tensed. Yuki cleaned up Ryuka's injury, who was still bleeding heavily.

"Okay, I'm done. Put those on your wound," Yuki said as she handed her another heap of tissues.

Ryuka let out a sob as she pressed the heap of tissues against her bloody wound, while Yuki grabbed bandages and rolled them around Ryuka's shoulder, enough tight to stop the bleeding. Once she finished bandaging her injury, Yuki took out a bottle of pills and a bottle of water, giving one pill to Ryuka.

"Here, it should help with the pain," Yuki said.

Without any protest, Ryuka grabbed the pill and put it in her mouth before swallowing it with water. She then leaned on the wall and took a deep breath, before panting. Yuki softly caressed her head, which seemed to eventually calm Ryuka.

"Thanks, Yuki-chan. Where did you learn how to treat wounds?"

"One of my guardians is a doctor, she taught me first-aid."

Yuki sat down next Ryuka, gently holding her hand. Ryuka rested her head on Yuki's shoulder, closing her eyes. A soft and peaceful moment that would have been perfect if their phone didn't start ringing.

"Urgh, what again?" Ryuka complained as she took out her phone.

Yuki was expecting another riddle from the same person but was surprised to see that it was a different number. Instead of a riddle, she received a picture of a flower. It was a purple flower with some yellow in the center of its petals.

"A purple iris," Yuki mumbled.

"What?"

"It's the flower I received. In the language of flower, purple iris means wisdom."

"Oh… well then, what about that flower?" Ryuka asked, showing her phone to Yuki.

It was displaying a picture of a purple flower with a particular shape.

"That's aconite," Yuki replied.

"And what does it mean?"

"It means hatred."

"Huh? Why would that freak sent me a picture of that?"

"I don't know… all I know is that it's another person than the riddles."

As they thought about that mystery, their phone rang again and they immediately looked at it.

"Huh, it's the riddle guy again," Yuki said. "But this riddle looked different. It seems more like instruction to go somewhere."

"Maybe the exit?" Ryuka proposed.

"Hm, it worths the try."

Yuki helped Ryuka to get up and let her support herself on her shoulder as they both exited the room, following the instruction they received.

* * *

Walking alongside with Sayo, Chidori's phone vibrated. Sayo stopped and looked at her.

"Another riddle?" she asked.

"Probably… huh?"

When she looked at her phone, it wasn't a riddle she had received, but a picture of little blue flowers.

"What's that?" Sayo asked.

"Hydrangea," Chidori replied.

"Huh? Why did they send you flowers?"

"I don't know… all I know is that flower means a lot of things, such as frigidity, or heartfelt emotions."

"Just like you then," Sayo teased.

"I'm not- Wait, there's another picture. And this one has a note."

They both look at the second flower, a yellow one, where it was written under: for Sayo.

"Eh, that's creepy. Why would this freak send me a flower from your phone?"

"Probably because they know your phone has no battery."

"And what is that flower?"

"It's a daffodil, it means rebirth or a new beginning."

"Ah… no idea why they sent me that."

"... really? Not even a clue why?"

"Nope. That has nothing to do with me."

"You know, I didn't want to say it, but the more I know you, the more I realize… you're pretty dumb huh."

"What!? Why are you insulting me all of the sudden?!"

Chidori didn't reply, thinking about the meaning behind those flowers. Obviously, whoever sent them knew about them, they must be the mastermind. Yet it wasn't the same phone number as the riddles. Was the mastermind two people? It seemed plausible, but she felt like there may be another possibility.

Then suddenly, her phone vibrated again. It was the same number as the riddles, but it didn't look like a riddle. More like instruction.

"What's that?" Sayo asked.

"Instruction to follow to arrive where we are looking for," Chidori said.

"The exit?!"

"Maybe, but that could be-"

Sayo suddenly grabbed her phone and read, before she started to run.

"Sayo-san!? What are you doing!? That could be a trap!" Chidori shouted as she ran after her.

"Mitsu-chan and your brother might be there if they received the same message!" Sayo yelled, not slowing down.

Chidori sighed. Truly, Sayo was an idiot. Yet she couldn't help but like her. So she simply followed her, hoping that indeed their siblings were there and that they weren't running into a trap.

* * *

"Isuko-senpai! Isuko-senpai!"

Aki was running after Isuko but he had lost his sight. Aki turned a corner and continued to run until he reached a dead-end. Isuko was there, facing the wall. Aki stepped towards him, worried.

"Isuko… senpai?" he called softly.

Isuko jolted but remained facing the wall.

"Go away, Aki."

Aki hesitated. Isuko was asking him to leave, yet he was worried about him. He wanted to know what was going on.

"Please, talk to me. Why did you run away? I just want to help you!"

"There's nothing you can do. You wouldn't even understand…"

"Try me! You can't know for sure if you don't at least tell me what's going on!"

Isuko clenched his fist, still refusing to turn back. Aki tried to think about what could have upset Isuko. They were just talking about the riddle they have received. Was it related to the colour green? Aki found it hard to believe.

Isuko finally turned back, his eyes red from tears, much to Aki's worries. Isuko immediately rubbed his eyes to wipe away his tears, as if he had never been crying.

"Why do you care? Why don't you go play with your new best friend mister greasy hair!" Isuko said bitterly.

"Mister…? Namatame-kun? He's not my best friend, I barely know him!"

"Then why did you keep agreeing with him and defending him!? Do you like him or what?"

"What? I just met him! And you were being… kind of mean to him."

Isuko immediately looked angry.

"Again you're defending him! Why, do you think he's better than me!? You think he's prettier than me? Why don't you think about my feelings for once!"

Isuko looked like he regretted his words. Aki was starting to understand what was going on. Green, the colour of…

"Isuko-senpai… are you jealous?"

Isuko seemed shocked to hear that and looked away in shame.

"What if I was?" he simply said.

"Isuko-senpai… you don't have to be jealous of Namatame-kun. You're pretty too, you're the most handsome at school!"

"Oh my God, Aki… why are you so dense."

"Huh?"

"It's not… about that. Urgh… forget about it."

"No! Please, tell me what I'm missing!" Aki pleaded.

Isuko looked like he was hesitating before he sighed.

"I have… feelings for you," Isuko admitted.

"Huh? What kind of feelings?"

"Isn't obvious? I… I… uh… I... I lo-"

"There you are!"

Aki turned back and saw Tsurugi approaching them. Isuko immediately went quiet and glared at him.

"I don't know why, but people just keep running away from me," Tsurugi said.

"Geez, I wonder why," Isuko said with sarcasm.

"Isuko-senpai, what were you going to tell me?" Aki asked.

Isuko clenched his teeth and crossed his arms.

"Nothing important," he said bitterly.

Before Aki could insist, their phones suddenly rang. They all pulled it out to see what it was, expecting another riddle. But it wasn't the case.

"A flower… ?" Aki said.

"I receive one too," Isuko said.

"Same here. A gladiolus," Tsurugi revealed.

"A what?" Aki asked.

"Gladiolus. In the language of flowers, it means strength and moral integrity."

"Pff, what a pretentious flower," Isuko replied. "... what about mine?"

Isuko showed is phone to Tsurugi, showing a purple flower.

"That looks like… purple heather," Tsurugi said. "I think it represents beauty."

"Ah, take that!" Isuko said proudly.

"...okay?"

"What about mine?" Aki asked as he showed Tsurugi his phone, to show him the white flower.

"Oh, that's a calla lily. It means purity."

"Seems fitting," Isuko said.

"I… I'm not that pure," Aki replied, embarrassed.

And once again, their phone rang.

"What again?" Isuko said, annoyed.

"A riddle? No… it looks like instructions," Aki said.

"The mastermind is trying to bring us somewhere… it looks like a challenge. Maybe this is where they're hiding, we should go and put an end to this," Tsurugi proposed.

"What? No way, that has to be a trap," Isuko refused.

"Maybe it's where the exit is, it worths it to go see. We're three, I'm sure we can protect ourselves," Aki said.

Isuko looked like he was hesitating for a moment before he sighed.

"Fine, let's go," Isuko reluctantly agreed.

Following the instruction, they walked in the prison for a while, before they reached a closed door. Without waiting, Tsurugi grabbed the handle and tried to open the door.

"It's locked," he said.

"Obviously. You thought it would be that easy?" Isuko replied.

"We need to force the door open," Aki said.

"What if a trap is waiting for us inside?" Isuko said.

"The mastermind might be inside," Tsurugi replied. "And I'm going to stop them!"

Tsurugi started to kick the door before Isuko stopped him.

"You fool, what if someone dangerous is inside? Now they know we are here!"

"I don't care, I'll enter no matter what!" Tsurugi shouted.

"Onii-chan!"

Tsurugi stopped when he heard that voice and turned back, and so did Aki and Isuko. Two girls were running towards them, Aki knew none of them. One had long white hair and the other was short with lavender-pinkish hair. The latter rushed towards Tsurugi to hug him.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" she said.

"Chidori! I was worried too!" Tsurugi said.

So she was Tsurugi's little sister. As the two siblings shared a fond moment, Isuko aggressively looked at the white-haired girl.

"You bitch! You hit me with a fucking baseball bat!" Isuko said.

"Hey, you attacked me, that was self-defence!" she replied, defensive.

"So she was the girl…" Aki mumbled.

"Apparently you got a twin sister and she's as crazy as you! She knocked out that guy," Isuko added, pointing to Tsurugi.

"Wait, no…" Tsurugi tried to protest.

"Hanabusa-san knocked you out?" Chidori asked, a gloomy look on her face.

"That's… that's not what you think…" Tsurugi tried to explain.

"So you're his sister huh, the reason why his hair looks so awful," Isuko mocked.

Chidori immediately released his brother and stared at Isuko.

"Onii-chan's hair is cool! You better not insult it!" Chidori let out.

"Cool? Pff, don't make me laugh. It just looks like his so ugly that even his hair wants to get away from him!" Isuko taunted.

"Don't insult my brother! You're just jealous because you need makeup to look good while he's handsome naturally!"

"I… I don't wear makeup…"

"Then what are these black drops under your eyes?"

Isuko immediately wiped his eyes and there was a black mark on his hand.

"You got a problem with a guy wearing makeup?" Isuko replied.

"No at all. I have a problem with you being a jerk to my brother."

"What, are you in love with your brother, you little brocon!?"

"How did you get to that conclusion!? Ew! Anyway, I like girls!" Chidori said.

"Wait really?" the white-haired girl said. "So do I~"

"I like both," Aki suddenly said.

"Is there anyone else who wants to do is coming out?" Chidori added as she looked at Isuko.

"I… have nothing to say," Isuko replied.

They heard footsteps getting closer to them and saw two girls that Aki didn't recognize, but the others seemed to.

"You bitch!" Isuko exclaimed.

"Well well, isn't that twink! What you got on your face? Mascara? Pff, wearing makeup and crying, you're basically a woman," a brown-haired girl mocked.

"Kenshi stop, that's not the time to pick up a fight," the girl with her reprimanded.

"Why is this place full of sissies… huh…?"

She looked like she had noticed the white-haired girl's presence and froze in fear.

"You again… you crazy bitch, you stabbed me…!" Kenshi accused.

"What? I didn't do that!" the white-haired girl protested.

"Sayo-san would have never done that!" Chidori added.

"Yuki-chan was with me and she saw her!"

"Actually, that wasn't her, it was most likely her twin sister," Yuki replied.

"Wait what? There are two of them? Fuck!" Kenshi exclaimed.

"Wait, I met you before… you're Ryuka-san, right?" Aki asked.

As she turned her head to look at Aki, Ryuka's eyes were full of sparkes.

"Aki-chi! It has been a while, how have you been?" Ryuka asked.

Before Aki could reply, Isuko immediately got in front of him, glaring at Ryuka who simply smirked.

"Hehe, why are you keeping the cutie all for yourself…. huh, you!?" Ryuka exclaimed angrily as she pointed Chidori.

"Yeah me again. You pencil maniac and the bomb freak!" Chidori replied.

"I'm not a bomb freak," Yuki replied.

"Why am I surrounded by scums? A midget, a mangirl, a fa-"

"Don't you fucking dare call me that again!" Isuko shouted.

Isuko rushed towards Ryuka and grabbed her by the collar before raising his fist. Ryuka's face tensed in pain before she grinned, and Aki noticed that she had a bandage around her shoulder.

"Watcha gonna do? Hit me? You're gonna hit an injured woman? You're even less a man than I thought," Ryuka taunted.

"Kenshi, stop!" Yuki pleaded.

Isuko looked like he was hesitating. Aki rushed towards him and forcefully separated him from Ryuka.

"That's enough!" Aki shouted. "It's not the time to fight, we're all on the same side. We need to cooperate and help each other!"

Everyone went quiet, some of them looking away in shame. The only sound they could hear was the sound of hands clapping.

"Beautiful speech. As this young man said, we're all in the same predicament, we have to collaborate if we want to escape alive."

They all turned back to see who it was a discovered a boy with short brown hair and red eyes, wearing a school uniform consisted of a black jacket and red pants. He was smiling at them calmly, looking rather charming.

"Who the fuck are you?" Ryuka asked rudely.

"Ah, excuse me, I neglected to introduce myself. My name is Kuzunoha Tori, and just like you, I have been kidnapped and made a target for this twisted game. I received instruction and I followed them, and it led me here."

This name sounded familiar to Aki. He was certain he heard his mothers say it, but he didn't remember the context. Regardless, Tori was in the same situation as them, so he must be an ally, so Aki decided to trust him.

"Same for us," Yuki said.

"Is every target here?" Aki asked.

"No, my sister is missing," Sayo said.

"We have no time to wait, let's break that door and see what's behind!" Ryuka exclaimed.

"Let me do it!" Tsurugi declared.

As he said that, Tsurugi rushed towards the door and hit it with his shoulder, but it resisted. He tried again, but the door still refused to move.

"Let me help you," Sayo proposed.

Both of them stood next to each other and together, they rushed towards the door and hit it with all their strength. The door burst opened.

"You did it!" Chidori exclaimed.

The door was leading to a room that looked dark and weakly lit. They all entered the room and discovered a wall full of screens showing different parts of the prison. In front of those screens was someone sitting on a chair, back to them.

"Show yourself, you miscreant!" Tsurugi shouted.

They all stood still, waiting for the person to move. They eventually rose up and faced them. They were a young woman wearing a uniform similar to Tori, with shoulder-length black hair and wearing sunglasses. A wide grin suddenly appeared on her face.

"Welcome here and congratulations on finding this place! I'm Mizorogi Asuka, and until now, I was the one sending you riddles. I hope you enjoyed them~"

* * *

 **Tori and Asuka joined! What do you think about them?**


	10. Chapter 9: Who's the lyrebird?

Haru got out of the car and rushed towards the building before Tokaku suddenly stopped her.

"Wait, Haru! There may be traps, we need to be careful."

Reluctantly, Haru didn't protest, fighting back against the urge to run. She didn't care about the risk, she just wanted to save her son and the other kids. But if she died stupidly because of some trap, then she couldn't save Aki.

The second car arrived and Kouko, Suzu, Sumireko and Banba got out, joining them, followed by Chitaru and Hitsugi who arrived on a motorcycle. Isuke and Haruki arrived too in their own car.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go save our kids!" Haruki exclaimed.

"Tokaku thinks that there may be traps," Haru explained.

"Let's see," Kouko said as she grabbed a rock and threw it.

When the rock touched the ground, it caused an explosion. It wasn't really big, but enough to kill someone if they stepped on it.

"As I thought. It's a minefield," Kouko said.

"Great, how are we going to cross it?" Isuke said with annoyance.

"My cybernetic limbs have a metal detector, you just have to follow my step and you should be fine," Sumireko said.

They all nodded as they get behind Sumireko, who started to walk carefully on the minefield. The group followed her step, walking in her footprints. Haru could feel her heart racing with anxiety, fearing that any step could lead to her death. But she had to take this risk, for Aki's sake.

"I don't sense any more landmine," Sumireko said as they reached the building.

They sighed with relief. They walked towards the door but obviously, it was locked. Isuke started to kick the door, in vain.

"Fuck, how do we get in!?" Isuke shouted angrily.

"Let me take care of it. Sagae, give me one of your hairpins," Hitsugi said.

Haruki did as she was told and removed a hairpin from her fringe, giving it to Hitsugi, who stick inside the lock.

"So you know how to pick lock huh," Otoya commented.

"Let's say it was a useful skill for the type of work I used to do," Hitsugi replied. "But it had been a while since I have done that, I may be rusty. It'll probably take me some time."

"Well, when you're doing that, we should try to deactivate some landmine, so the kids can leave safely. At least clear up a safe path," Kouko proposed.

"I will help you find the landmine safely," Sumireko said.

Kouko nodded and they both returned to the minefield, while Hitsugi continued to pick the lock. Haru remained still, dead worried, but hopeful that they will manage to save their kids.

* * *

They all remained quiet, staring at the girl who claimed to be behind the mysterious riddles. Was it a confession? What she admitting to be the mastermind behind this twisted game? Aki didn't want to draw hasty conclusions, but it seemed that others didn't necessarily share his opinion.

"You… you're the mastermind, don't you!?" Isuko accused.

Asuka grinned at that accusation.

"Hm, I wonder," she simply replied enigmatically.

Isuko clenched his fist as he rushed towards her, grabbing her by the collar as he raised his fist.

"Don't fuck with me! Tell me why you did this, why did you trap us in this insane game!? Answer me you bitch!" Isuko shouted.

"Inukai-kun, please calm down. Violence won't solve anything," Tsurugi said.

"Shut up! She trapped us here, she's a fucking psycho! Didn't you want to stop the mastermind!?"

"Of course I want it! But there's no point in hurting her, now that we found her we can put an end to this twisted game."

Isuko clenched his teeth and reluctantly, let go of Asuka's collar. She was still grinning and let out a chuckle.

"Namatame-kun is such a gentleman. You should take example on him, Inukai-kun."

Isuko looked upset but didn't reply anything to that and recoiled, while Tsurugi stepped forward, glaring at Asuka.

"Why did you do that, Mizorogi-san?" he asked.

"Do what?" Asuka replied innocently.

"Don't take me for a fool. You're alone in a room full of screens displaying different parts of the jail and you admitted you where the one sending those riddles. You're the mastermind, don't you?"

"If I was the mastermind, what would you do to me?" Asuka asked with a smirk.

"I would stop you so you don't hurt anyone anymore," Tsurugi replied with no hesitation.

"How brave of you, worthy of a knight in shining armour. But isn't there a certain lady you should be worried about?" Asuka taunted.

Tsurugi froze for a moment.

"What… what happened to Hanabusa-san?" he asked.

"Hm, I wonder… why don't you take a look yourself?"

Tsurugi immediately rushed towards the screen, desperately looking for one that displayed Mitsumi.

"Screw with that, let's just torture her until she tells us what we want to know," Ryuka said.

"Kenshi?" Yuki reacted.

"I mean, not that I want to torture her or anything, but you know, that could make her talk," Ryuka tried to justify.

Sayo suddenly stepped forward Asuka, threatening her with her baseball bat.

"What do you know about my sister? You better answer, or else-"

"Or else what? You're a softly, you wouldn't even hurt a fly," Asuka mocked. "Just go take a look if it worries you that much."

Sayo's grip tightened around her bat while Chidori put her hand on hers.

"Sayo-san, you need to remain calm. Talking to this girl is useless, let's go see if we can find her on the screens," Chidori said softly.

With some hesitation, Sayo finally lowered her weapon and joined Tsurugi with Chidori, looking through all the screens to find her sister.

"Are you really the mastermind?" Yuki asked with some doubt.

"Oh? You don't think I am? Then what am I doing here and how did I get all your phone numbers," Asuka replied, smirking.

Yuki remained thoughtful, while Aki was starting to have serious doubt. He looked around and noticed the doorknob. He noticed something particular with it and got closer to have a better look. When he understood what it meant he turned to the group.

"Guys! Mizorogi-san isn't the mastermind!" Aki declared.

Everyone turned towards him, confused.

"What? How can you be so sure?" Isuko asked.

"Take a look at the handle. There's nothing that allowed to lock the door from the inside, so it means the door was locked from the outside," Aki said.

"And?" Ryuka asked.

"Ah, I get it," Yuki said. "If the door was locked from the outside, it means it wasn't Mizorogi who locked it."

"Exactly! Which means she was locked inside the room by someone else. Mizorogi-san isn't the mastermind, just like us she had been kidnapped and trapped here. Am I right, Mizorogi-san?"

Asuka remained quiet for a moment, the same smirk on her face, before she let out a laugh and started to clap her hands.

"Good job, Azuma-kun. You are totally right, I'm unfortunately not the mastermind you're looking for," Asuka revealed. "But it was fun pretending to be~"

"The last riddle, you sent us those indications because you wanted us to free you, right?" Aki asked.

"Yep. I had a lot of fun here, but I needed to get out at some point, ya know?"

"How is that possible!? You admitted yourself that you were the one sending those riddles," Isuko protested.

Asuka replied nothing to that, she just continued to smile as if she was making fun of them, which infuriated Isuko.

"Please Mizorogi-san, tell us the truth. We're on the same side," Aki said.

Asuka looked pondering for a moment before she sighed and smiled softly.

"Fine, I'll tell you. You were right, just like you I got captured. I woke up in this room with a note, with all your phone numbers on it. I requested me to offer you support, which I did."

"You send us fucking riddles instead of telling us something important that could have helped us!?" Isuko exclaimed.

"Riddles are good for the soul and sharpen the mind, you should try those more often," Asuka replied.

Isuko clenched his fists but Aki stopped him before he could step towards Asuka.

"Do you know where the exit is?" Yuki asked.

"Well, thanks to the camera, I think I did find the exit," Asuka replied.

"And could you perhaps guide us there?"

"Hm… should I?"

"Oh fuck off and just tell us where the fucking exit is!" Ryuka yelled.

"My my, impatient aren't you? Fine, I'll show you the exit, since you all ask so nicely," Asuka said with a chuckle.

"This is really appreciated, thank you," Tori said with a smile.

It was the first time he talked since the beginning. He looked rather calmed despite the situation, he must be quite the cool-headed guy.

"But first, let me give you one last riddle," Asuka said. "Who's the lyrebird?"

"Huh? Again with a stupid riddle," Isuko complained.

"I don't care, just bring us to the exit already," Ryuka added.

"Who's the lyrebird…" Yuki mused.

Aki wondered what it meant. How was a lyrebird relevant to their situation? He decided to not overthink it, it was probably not important.

"Very well, I shall escort you to the exit. Follow me!" Asuka said as she stepped outside the room.

The group followed her, heading for what seemed to be the exit of this hell.

* * *

They walked through multiple corridors until they reached some kind of atrium. The area was surrounded by cells filled with prisoners, who were glaring at them. Aki felt a chill down his spine, glad that they were behind the bars. He noticed that Yuki had stopped walking.

"Fujimoto-san? What's wrong?" he asked.

The group stopped and turned back to look at Yuki, who seemed lost in her thought.

"Yuki-chan? You're tired? It's not the time to take a break, we need to leave as soon as possible," Ryuka reprimanded her.

"Do you all remember the first message we ever received? The one explaining us the game," Yuki said.

"Yeah? What 'bout that?" Sayo asked.

"Well, it's just that it's said that we were eight targets," Yuki explained.

"And we are eight right now," Sayo replied. "Well nine, but Mizorogi doesn't count… right?"

"I'm not a target," Asuka confirmed.

"But what about your sister, Hanabusa?" Yuki insisted.

Everyone remained quiet for a moment like they were trying to process this detail.

"So… there are actually nine targets?" Aki said.

"The mastermind must have lied," Isuko added.

"It's a possibility, but there's an even more obvious one," Yuki said.

"What is it?" Chidori asked as if she already had a doubt.

"One of us is the mastermind," Yuki declared.

They all froze. Aki remained shocked. One of them was the mastermind? Aki didn't want to believe that one of them was behind all of this, but Yuki's reasoning made sense. It was highly probable.

"Mastermind, whoever you are, confess!" Tsurugi said firmly.

"You and your deep-ass voice, there's no way they will denounce themselves like that," Isuko replied.

"What's wrong with my voice?"

"Nothing, it's perfect, he's just jealous," Chidori reassured him.

"I suspect that Mizorogi knows who the mastermind is, hence her riddle. She was probably forbidden to reveal their identity directly, so she used a riddle instead," Yuki continued.

"Hehe, smart aren't cha?" Asuka praised.

"Who's the lyrebird… is the lyrebird the mastermind?" Aki asked.

"Probably," Yuki concluded.

"How the hell are we supposed to know who the fuck is the lyrebird?!" Isuko exclaimed.

"I believe it's a pun. 'Lyrebird' is pronounced almost the same as liar bird. We're looking for a lying bird," Yuki revealed.

They all went quiet. A lying bird? Who could that be? Who here was a bird? Aki tried to think about it and suddenly, he realized something regarding someone's name.

"Don't tell me it's…"

"Oh, you realized too?" Yuki said, before she turned towards the one Aki was suspecting. "Kuzunoha, your given name, 'Tori', it means bird."

Tori replied nothing to this, simply smiling in a serene way that almost looked chilling.

"Kuzunoha… ?" Tsurugi said.

"You're the mastermind, aren't you?" Yuki accused calmly.

"This is merely a coincidence, I'm not the mastermind," Tori replied, looking nervous.

"You better be saying the truth, otherwise I'll beat you up," Isuko threatened.

"He's lying. He's the lying bird. His lie was to say he was a target," Yuki insisted.

"I didn't lie! I'm a target just like you, Mizorogi is just trying to manipulate you. She's working for the real mastermind!" Tori protested energetically.

"I can prove without any doubt that you are the mastermind," Yuki claimed.

Tori suddenly calmed down, with a glimpse of interest in his red eyes.

"Oh? How so?" he asked.

Yuki grabbed her phone and select a number and suddenly, they heard a vibration who seemed to be coming from no one else than Tori.

"This number is the one who sent me a flower," Yuki explained. "If Mizorogi isn't the mastermind, then that other number must be."

Everyone remained silent, glaring at Tori, who looked simply stoic, before he cracked a smile and started to giggle.

"I suppose there's no point in hiding it anymore. I'm indeed the mastermind," Tori revealed with a smirk.

Immediately, most people in the group took either an offensive or defensive stance.

"You bastard!" Isuko exclaimed.

"I won't let you get away with this!" Tsurugi declared.

"Oh, but you will. You'll all die here and right now," Tori threatened with a sinister smile, before he turned to Asuka. "Mizorogi-san, you disappointed me. I forbid you from revealing my identity and yet, you helped them figure out. Look like you picked your side, so you won't see any issues to dying with them?"

For the first time, Asuka showed signs of discomfort and stress, despite smiling.

"I regret nothing," she simply replied.

"Us, die? Ha! We're eight and you're alone, don't make me laugh!" Ryuka exclaimed with a sadistic smile. "We'll maul you alive!"

Tori let out another laugh before he stared at them with a smile full of malevolence.

"Oh, but I'm not going to fight you. I don't like to dirty my hands. I prefer to have tools to do the dirty work for me," he said as he took out a small controller and pressed a button.

Suddenly, all the cells' doors opened. The prisoners got out, some of them giggling with bad intent, as they surrounded the group. Despite the shock, the targets form a circle, all back-to-back, ready to defend themselves. Aki took out his taser, prepared to fight for his life.

"Fuck!" Isuko exclaimed.

"So many scums!" Ryuka yelled.

Tori continued to smile for a moment before his expression turned cold and impassive.

"Kill them all," he simply ordered the prisoners with such a gloomy voice.

The prisoners got out of Tori's way as he left the area, leaving the targets to their fate.

* * *

 **So Tori was actually the mastermind, not Asuka. Shocking.**

 **Will the kids survive this accounter? You'll see next chapter!**


	11. Chapter 10: Reunion

Aki avoided a punch and punched back before he tased a prisoner who was attacking him. He kicked another one before making someone else tripped, using his taser to knock them out. Aki was used to fighting, but not so many opponents at the same time, so he was already exhausted and out of breath. But he persevered, he simply couldn't give up. His very own life was at stake, he had to fight if he wanted to survive and see his parents again. Thinking about them gave him the strength to not abandon.

He managed to push back enough enemies to have a small moment of respite, which he used to look at how his companions were doing.

Ryuka seemed like she had difficulties fighting, probably due to her injuries. She managed to stab a couple of prisoners before she got mobbed by them, pinned to the ground and beat up. Yuki immediately rushed towards her and pushed away some prisoner, using her body as a human shield to protect her friend, getting kicked and punched.

Aki instinctively wanted to go help them, but Tsurugi was faster. Using his kendo sword, he swung around and hit the prisoners who were assaulting Ryuka and Yuki. He helped them to get up and valiantly fight back against their assaulters, hitting them with his sword while the two girls remained behind him.

Sayo was swinging her baseball bat everywhere, hitting multiple prisoners, knocking them out. Chidori was back to her, shooting their enemies with a tranquillizer gun. When she was busy recharging her weapon Sayo covered her back, their teamwork was impeccable. Bodies fell at their feet over time as they continued to fight the prisoners.

Isuko was throwing punches and kicks all around him, knocking out a couple of his opponents, but Aki noticed that his movements were slower than usual. His expression was stuck on a frown as if he was in pain. Aki guessed that it was probably because of his head injury and immediately rushed to help him.

Aki pushed away a prisoner who was about to punch Isuko and kicked another one who was getting to close of his friend. Both now back to back, the two boys fought back against their attackers, covering each other.

"Thanks for the help, but I was fine on my own," Isuko said.

"Are you okay? Are you sure you can fight?" Aki asked with concern.

Isuko punched a prisoner who was about to grab him.

"Not like I really have a choice," Isuko replied.

Aki tased an enemy who tried to punch him.

"Ugh, they are too many!" Isuko complained.

As he continued to fight Aki noticed that Tsurugi was getting mobbed, only to be helped by Ryuka who stabbed a prisoner about to punch him behind the head. Yuki threw firecrackers around them to push back enemies, who feared that it might be bombs.

Chidori tried to shoot another prisoner, but it looked like she had no more tranquillizer dart. She threw some flask on the floor that broke, spreading some smoke where the prisoners were.

"Don't break that smoke, Sayo-san," Chidori said.

Sayo held her breath as she continued to hit prisoners with her bat, while Chidori continued to throw flasks on the floor. The prisoners who breathed the smoke suddenly looked dizzy, before they fell to the floor, inert.

Asuka wasn't fighting, she was simply avoiding and dodging all the attacks with impressive agility, like a cat.

The prisoners started to push them until the targets were all together, surrounded by their enemies. The prisoners pushed even more, getting them all squeezed together, getting all punched and kicked repetitively. All packed against each other, the targets couldn't defend themselves anymore against their assault.

" _Is it the end? Will I really die here? And never see my family again?_ " Aki thought desperately.

While it seemed like all hope was lost, they suddenly heard a violent rampage. The prisoners stopped and looked around, probably wondering what it was. The wall was brutally destroyed, someone coming out of the hole. They grinned madly, holding a huge sledgehammer that they put on their shoulder.

"Shinya oji-san!" Sayo exclaimed.

Shinya giggled as she rushed towards the prisoners, lifting her weapon, before smashing them.

"Ya ain't gonna touch my nieces you fuckers!" Shinya shouted.

Multiple women came out from the hole, all charging towards the prisoners. Aki recognized his parents Haru and Tokaku, the latter immediately fighting. Haru looked around and spotted Aki and immediately rushed towards him to hug him.

"Aki-kun! I'm so glad you're okay, I was so worried!" his mother exclaimed, sobbing.

Aki hugged her back while looking at the fight.

A redhead was simply punching and knocking out prisoners in one punch, with next to her a pink-haired woman who used knuckles knives to kill them. Isuko was looking at them with admiration.

"Papa, mama," Isuko mumbled.

So those were Isuko's parents. Not too far from them was a black-haired woman with glasses, shooting down any prisoners she could spot.

"Kouko-san," Yuki whispered.

Armed with a tranquillizer gun, a short woman was shooting prisoners, with by her side a red-haired woman using a kendo sword to fight.

"Moms!" Tsurugi and Chidori both said with relief in their voice.

Laughing maniacally, a woman with dark hair was slicing up prisoners using a pair of scissors, which Ryuka looked with a grin on her face.

"Senpai," she simply said.

A woman with long strawberry blond hair was fighting like a machine, having no difficulties defeating any prisoners who dare to come to close from her.

"Oka-chan!" Sayo exclaimed.

Aki noticed other women approaching them, two. A short one with golden eyes and one with brown hair and glasses. The former rushed towards Yuki, hugging her for a moment before looking at her right in the eyes.

"Yuki-chan! Are you okay? You're bleeding!" the golden-eyed woman exclaimed with worry.

"I'm fine Suzu-san, but… I'll need new glasses," Yuki said stoically.

"Mines are fine!" Ryuka exclaimed proudly, holding a glasses case while her face was completely bloody.

The brown-haired woman put a hand on her shoulder. Ryuka immediately took a pitiful expression, all tearful and frightened.

"Shiena-chan… I was so scared! They tried to kill me, they hurt me… it hurt so much…"

Shiena gazed at her, clearly unimpressed by her act.

"Ryuka… There were cameras everywhere, we saw everything… _I_ saw everything you did," Shiena said.

Ryuka suddenly became emotionless before a nervous smile appeared on her lips as she shrugged.

"I was… stressed?" Ryuka replied. "I was under a lot of pressure."

Shiena sighed, Ryuka looking tensed, before her guardian finally hugged her.

"I'm glad you're okay, Ryuka," Shiena simply said.

Ryuka looked surprised for a moment before her expression softened as she hugged back Shiena.

Haru broke the hug and looked carefully at her son.

"Are you hurt?" she asked.

"No, just a few bruises and scratches," Aki reassured her.

He then looked around again to see how the fight was going. Tokaku was knocking down several prisoners, while Isuko's parents were more deadly. Yuki's guardian shot down a few more enemies, Chidori and Tsurugi's mothers were multiplying the unconscious bodies at their feet, and the scissors maniac increased her body count, same with Sayo's mom and uncle. The few prisoners left got scared and eventually ran away through the hole Shinya created. The rest of them was either knocked out or dead on the floor.

Since they were done dealing with the prisoners, the parents rushed towards their respective kids, worried and concerned for them.

"Isuko!" his parents exclaimed.

"Papa, mama!" he said back as he hugged them.

Aki looked at this heartful reunion, moved that just like him Isuko was reunited with his parents.

"Do you know them?" Aki asked.

"Yes, they were my classmates, Isuke-san and Haruki-san," Haru replied. "They were all my classmates and… my friends. Those two over there are Kaminaga-san and Shutou-san, then there's Namatame-san and Hitsugi-chan, there's Hanabusa-san and Mahi- Shinya-san and those are Shiena-chan and Takechi-san."

Tokaku got closer to Aki and looked at him for a while before she ruffled his hair and smiled proudly.

"You did well, son. You fought bravely," Tokaku complimented.

Aki couldn't help but smile. Tokaku was always so strict with him, it was rare that she praised him. He would cherish this laud.

And she wasn't the only parent proud and praising her child, not so far away Aki could hear the Namatame's household.

"Both of you… I'm so glad you're okay!" Namatame exclaimed as she hugged Tsurugi and Chidori. "And you didn't even get blood on your hands."

"Killing is against everything you taught me, oka-sama," Tsurugi replied.

"I didn't want… more blood on my hands," Chidori whispered.

As she heard that, Hitsugi hugged her daughter.

"I'm proud of you too," she said.

Kouko rushed to her child and immediately examined her.

"Let me check you… your nose is broken, and you're going to have a black eye… but other than that you seem fine," Kouko said calmly before she got taken over by emotion and hugged Yuki tightly.

"Ouch," Yuki said stoically.

Kouko immediately released her.

"Sorry…"

Farther away, Takechi joined her wife and child, before giving a little flick of the finger on Ryuka's face.

"Aie!" Ryuka complained.

"Congratulations on getting your ass beaten by literally everyone," Takechi mocked.

"Otoya!" Shiena reprimanded her.

Otoya's taunting smirk immediately disappeared from her face, replaced by a smile full of sympathy.

"I'm sorry. I'm happy that you're safe and sound, Ryuka-chan."

And as she said that, Otoya hugged her softly, while Shiena rolled her eyes and Ryuka seemed uncertain.

Sayo didn't wait for her relatives to join her, she rushed towards them and hugged them.

"Oka-san, oji-san!" she exclaimed.

"Glad to see ya okay li'l terror," Shinya said as she patted her niece's head.

Hanabusa softly stroke her daughter's hair, hugging her back, before she recoiled, looking worried.

"Where is your sister?" Hanabusa asked.

"I.. I don't know," Sayo replied, equally worried.

Aki noticed that Asuka was all by herself.

"Ah… y'all so lucky, your parents came to save you, they care for you, while mine… probably didn't even notice that I disappeared…" Asuka said with a sad expression.

Aki felt an urged of sympathy for her, which seemed to be the same for the others, until Asuka suddenly burst in laughter.

"I'm kidding!" she said. "I was supposed to be on some school trip so my daddies aren't worried about me, but I'm glad I got kidnapped. This was much more interesting than a boring school trip."

"Hehe, I like that girl."

Aki turned back to see who said that. A short girl with blond hair entered by the hole Shinya made, looking around with a cat-like smile on her lips.

"Nio," Haru said.

"I don't see my son, where is he?" Nio asked, not really concerned.

Aki had a doubt about who it might be, but before he could say anything, they heard someone clapping in a rather sarcastic way. They all turned to see where it was coming from. Upstairs was a young man looking down on them, with a plastic smile on his face.

"Kuzunoha-kun…" Aki mumbled.

Tori let out a soft chuckled.

"Tori-kun!" Nio exclaimed. "I'm so glad you're okay, I was so worried for you."

"Thanks for your concern, oka-san. I never was in danger to begin with," Tori replied, smirking.

Tsurugi rose his sword and pointed it at Tori, furiously glancing at him.

"You miscreant!" Tsurugi shouted. "Why have you done that? What is the meaning of this twisted game!?"

Tori remained silent for a moment, grinning.

"I was just curious," he simply replied.

They all remained quiet as if they couldn't believe what they just heard.

"You were… curious?" Aki asked.

"Yes. You may not realize it, but you're all linked by a special bond. Our parents all knew each other, they all took part into a game together, a game of life and death. By this almost supernatural coincidence, their kids ended up knowing each other, for the most part. It almost feels like it was destiny, that you were meant to go through what your parents went through. I take upon me to help fate getting accomplished."

Tori then turned to look at Aki most specifically.

"I was also curious about you, Azuma-kun. After all, you're the 'King' of this game."

"King? What… what do you mean?" Aki asked.

"Poor guy, you know nothing about your family, don't you?" Tori said with fake sympathy in his eyes.

"My… family?"

"After all, your mom is a Queen," Tori added.

Aki turned to look at Haru, who avoided his eyes.

"I see she hadn't told you. Ichinose-san is from a clan where women possess a unique power, the queen bee ability. Your mother possessed it. You're also from that clan, Azuma-kun. But you're one of the expendable males, their only purpose is to breed and have daughters. When your biological parents died, nobody in the clan wanted you, simply because you were born a boy. Well, except for Ichinose-san. It sucks, doesn't it? To be dispensable, to be unwanted… I know that feeling. After all, I'm also a male from this clan."

Aki remained silent for a moment, processing what he just learned.

"You mean… we're related?" Aki asked.

"We're cousins," Tori specified.

"I don't care if you're blood-related to Aki, what the fuck is this story of king and queen?!" Isuko yelled.

"Oh, about that. Well, women of our clans are targeted since their childhood, the more they are in danger the more powerful they get… but could a male who went through something similar start developing a similar power? Are the men of our clan really condemned to be powerless? I wanted to see if I put Azuma-kun in a survival game he might start producing the queen bee… well, king bee, pheromones. I think it was worth the shot, don't you think?"

Aki couldn't believe what he just heard. So all of this… was about him? Tori orchestrated this entire thing simply to test him about a power he wasn't even aware of about a clan that was unknown to him. He couldn't believe he had that kind of family, why his parents never told him… But he wasn't mad at them. He knew they must have had a good reason to keep it a secret, even if he would have like to know.

Isuko clenched his first before he pointed at Tori, anger clearly visible in his golden eyes.

"You bastard! You put Aki and all of us in danger for such a stupid reason? What the fuck is wrong with you!?"

"Not only that, I thought it would be fun for your parents to witness their precious children in a killing game. I thought it might remind them of old memories. So, how was it, to see your kids with their life at stake?" Tori asked with a twisted smile.

The parents all looked tensed and pissed off, which seemed to amuse Tori.

"You goddamn psychopath!" Otoya suddenly shouted.

All parents with no exception looked at Otoya with a blank expression, especially her wife who sighed with discouragement.

"Well, I got what I wanted, you were all wonderful pieces on my chessboard and you filled your roles perfectly. This was an entertaining experience, thanks for your oh so willing cooperation. It's not that I'm bored, but I have to go. I have school tomorrow," Tori declared.

And he simply walked away, disappearing through the door that was behind him.

"Fuck, we can't let him get away with this!" Isuko exclaimed.

"We need to chase him down!" Tsurugi agreed.

The two boys nodded at each other before rushing in the jail, followed by their respective parents. Those who stayed all turned to gaze at Nio.

"Your son did this," Hanabusa told her.

"You were working with him don't you!?" Tokaku accused.

"Wait a moment!" Nio exclaimed. "I have nothing to do with this, I didn't even know!"

"Likely story, we all know what kind of person you are," Otoya replied.

"I don't want to hear that from you!" Nio replied.

The parents and kids were now surrounding Nio who, despite looking calm, seemed a little bit tensed.

"Ya will tell us where your son went so we can give him what he deserved," Shinya ordered.

"I will I will, I swear! Just let me…" Nio started before to pull out a small ball from her pocket, grinning. "HAHAHA! Goodbye idiots!"

Nio threw the ball on the floor and thick smoke came out of it, blurring everyone's sight. Blinded and choking, they coughed, until the smoke finally disappeared, with Nio.

"That trash! She was definitely accomplice of her psycho son, I won't let her get away!" Tokaku said as she rushed to catch back Nio.

As she left, they heard footsteps getting closer to them. On their guard, the group turned back, ready to fight any enemy. Sayo froze when she saw who it was.

"Mitsu… chan?"

A girl looking like Sayo was walking slowly towards them, staggering a little and twitching, all covered in blood. Her hair was a mess and her pupils were extremely dilated, with a smile that screamed insanity. Aki noticed that she was holding a bloody rock.

"Mitsumi!?" Hanabusa exclaimed. "What is all that blood, are you hurt?"

She walked towards her daughter, who completely ignored her, heading for Sayo.

"Onee-chan," Mitsumi said fondly.

"Mitsu-chan… what happened to you?"

"All those monsters who wanted to hurt you, I sent them straight to hell," Mitsumi replied with a voice that reflected her madness.

She then opened her arms wide, clearly inviting her sister for a hug. Sayo remained hesitant, looking at her twin with a worried expression, before she finally conceded to her and embraced her.

"I love you so much, Sayo onee-chan."

"I… I love you too, Mitsu-chan."

Hanabusa got closer to them, leaning to talk to Sayo.

"What is going on with your sister?" her mother asked.

Chidori suddenly gazed at Sayo, who looked tensed and unease.

"She… she's just stressed, this whole situation was really stressful to her," Sayo replied.

Chidori gave a disapproving look to Sayo before she simply walked away.

"We should leave, I have a first-aid kit in the car, I can attend to their wounds," Kouko said.

"I will stay and wait for the others to find Hashiri-san and her son," Hanabusa said.

"Same here," Shinya added.

"Okay. The others, follow me, and be careful. We'll have to cross a minefield, but we deactivated enough mines to make a safe path," Kouko said as she left.

Holding Yuki's hand, Shutou followed her wife. Chidori followed them with Sayo, who was holding her sister's hand, and Shiena helping Ryuka to walk with Otoya by her side. Haru gave a soft pat on Aki's back, before joining her old classmates.

Aki looked behind him one last time, worried for Tokaku and Isuko, before he followed his mom to finally leave this hell of a prison.

* * *

 **And this was the last chapter of this fic, but don't worry, there will be an epilogue to wrap things up. So seeya next time to see how all of this will conclude.**

 **In the meanwhile, tell me what you think of the reunion between the parents and kids.**


	12. Epilogue

**Hey there! Been a while huh? I updated this fic for the last time last year. Well I'm back with the final chapter, the epilogue. I hope you're going to like it!**

* * *

It was hard to believe that it really happened. It was even harder to believe everything happened in less than a day. It felt like they were trapped in this prison for an eternity, or that everything had only been a horrible nightmare.

But, surrounded by the other survivors, Aki was forced to admit that it really happened. Sitting next to him was Isuko, who seemed pretty tensed. Aki instinctively grabbed his friend's hand, who responded by squeezing it softly.

After they failed to find back Nio and Tori, Haru called a transport for all the kids, a limousine to reward them for their courage. The parents were following them from their own vehicles.

The Hanabusa twins were sitting next to each other, Mitsumi's head resting on Sayo's shoulder. Next to them was Chidori and Tsurugi, holding each other. Ryuka was lying down on Yuki's lap, weakened by her injuries. Asuka was on her own, checking her phone.

"So, huh… that sure was something huh," Aki suddenly said, trying to break the uncomfortable silence.

"If by 'something' you mean being kidnapped by a psychopath and forced to compete in a deadly game, then yes, it was something," Chidori replied.

"Hey, my guardian is a psychopath, don't throw that word so carelessly!" Ryuka reprimanded.

"So we know where you got your psycho tendencies," Sayo said.

"Oh you shut up, you can't talk, just look at your sister..." Ryuka replied.

Sayo looked like she was about to reply, but remained silent, with a look of shame on her face. Mitsumi didn't seem to have heard, seemingly asleep. Chidori looked hesitating for a moment before she put a comforting hand on Sayo's shoulder.

"Too bad we didn't watch that son of a bitch," Isuko said. "I swear if I see that bastard again-"

"You'll get beaten just like I beat your ass?" Ryuka interrupted him with a smirk.

"Excuse me? If I remember correctly, I beat your ass! Everyone did!"

"Well actually, Kenshi sustained injuries primarily on her face," Yuki said.

"That's… that's an expression," Isuko replied in disbelief.

Surprisingly, Yuki's cluelessness made most of them laugh. After everything they had been through, a burst of good collective laughter was what they desperately needed.

"But damn, our mothers sure were pretty badass huh… especially mines," Sayo said.

"Mines were way cooler," Isuko protested.

"Excuse me? My mom is a literal motherfuckin' cyborg!"

"Your mother is a cyborg that sleeps with other mothers?" Yuki asked.

"No! Well, yeah, technically… she does sleep with her wife, who's also my mom, so…"

"Please don't indulge her," Ryuka replied.

A second wave of laughter resonated in the car. Yuki looked confused for a moment before she cracked a weak smile.

"Hey guys, how about… we exchange phone numbers?" Aki suddenly proposed.

"What, just like we went to some summer camp together?" Chidori replied.

"I don't want any of you losers' numbers," Ryuka said.

"We don't want your number too," Sayo replied.

"Guys, I'm serious! After what we went through together, it would be a shame to not stay in touch."

"I agree with Azuma. Not that it affects me, I already got all your phone numbers anyway," Asuka said as she typed on her phone.

"I don't mind it," Yuki said.

"Same here," Chidori added.

Nobody seemed to object to Aki's suggestion and they shared their numbers, except Ryuka. But Aki already had her number, given that they met once before the game.

The car suddenly stopped. Sayo looked through the window and then woke up her sister, gently shaking her shoulder.

"Mitsu-chan, we're home," Sayo said softly.

Mitsumi opened her eyes and looked around, looking worried, but immediately calmed down when she saw her sister.

"Sayo onee-chan…" she whispered with a smile.

Sayo smiled back and opened the door before she looked at the other kids.

"Seeya around, I guess," Sayo said.

She then took a look at Chidori, who remained silent. Sayo helped her sister to get out of the car, but before she could close the door, Chidori suddenly grabbed her arm.

"Wait, Sayo-san…" Chidori began before she hesitated for a moment. "T-Take care of yourself."

Sayo looked surprised for a moment before she smirked.

"You too, Chi-chan."

Sayo closed the door and the car started back.

"Finally, the psycho twins are gone," Ryuka let out.

"You're one to talk," Chidori replied.

"I'm not a psychopath, I'm a high-functioning sociopath. Do your research."

"'High-functioning'?" Chidori said with doubt.

"I mean, yeah my mask may have slipped today, but I swear at school I look totally normal and I'm very liked."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Kenshi is nice with everyone at school and always stand up for others," Yuki replied.

"See? I'm high-functioning," Ryuka said with a smirk.

"I don't feel like being able to deceive Fujimoto-san is a good proof," Chidori replied.

"Don't you dare call Yuki-chan stupid!"

"Eh?" Yuki said.

"I didn't! You're putting words in my mouth."

"Oh, trust me, I can put more than that in your mouth."

Tsurugi instinctively got in front of his sister, protective. Ryuka simply chuckled.

"Relax, I ain't into kids."

"I'm not a kid! I'm 13 nearly 14!" Chidori protested, offended.

"Technically speaking, you are culturally considered a teenager when you reach 13. But biologically speaking, a kid is someone who is prepubescent. Not everyone reaches puberty at the same time, so it's possible that Namatame-san may not have reached her puberty yet. So biologically she would still be a kid, but socially she is a teenager."

"See? You're a kid," Ryuka taunted with a smirk.

"I bet you didn't even understand her explanation," Chidori replied.

"All I heard is 'she's biologically a kid' and that's all I needed to know."

Chidori signed, exasperated, while her brother put a comforting hand on her shoulder. The car stopped once again. They all looked through the window to see if it was their house.

"Oh Kenshi, it's your house."

"Finally I can get away from here!"

"The feeling is mutual," Chidori replied.

Ryuka ignored her and tried to rose up and reached the door, but she couldn't, too weakened by her wounds. Yuki opened the door and helped her get back on her feet and they both left the car.

"I don't live too far away from here, I'll bring you back home," Yuki proposed.

"I don't need your- ouch...!" Ryuka said. "... Fine, you may help me."

Yuki closed back the door and the car started back.

"Good riddance…" Chidori replied.

"Not really a fan of Kenshi-san huh," Aki said.

"Who would? That bitch is crazy!" Isuke exclaimed.

"I punched her in the face," Tsurugi admitted.

"Wow, for once you did something good. Your hair is still awful tho."

"Don't insult my big brother! You're just jealous of him," Chidori let out.

"Eh!? Jealous of what? His greasy spiky hair?"

"No, that he, unlike you, doesn't need to be a prick to others to feel good about himself. That's a sign of really low self-esteem, and maybe even a way to compensate for your small di-"

"I won't let a brat talk to me like that!" Isuko interrupted her, red of shame.

"Guys, please, no more fighting! After what we went through together, I don't want to see us tear each other down again," Aki pleaded.

Isuko looked hesitating for a moment until Aki gently squeezed his hand, and he let out a sigh.

"Fine, I'll behave," Isuko said.

Chidori remained quiet until her brother gave her a soft pat on her head and she crossed her arms and looked away.

"Okay… I will too," Chidori mumbled between her teeth.

The car once again stopped and Tsurugi undid his security belt.

"We're home Chidori, let's go."

"Yes, oni-chan!"

As he grabbed the handle, Tsurugi turned towards Aki and gave him a friendly smile.

"It was nice to meet you, Azuma-kun. Hopefully we can see each other again?"

"Of course we will," Aki replied with a cheerful smile. "We are friends, aren't we?"

Isuko grunted at those words. Aki and Tsurugi exchanged a friendly handshake and the Namatame siblings left the car, which started back once again.

The rest of the travel remained quiet until Isuko broke the silence.

"Hey, you over there. You've been awfully quiet. And here I thought you were the type of person who likes to hear the sounds of her voice."

Asuka rose her nose from her phone and grinned.

"Did you miss my beautiful voice, Inukai-kun?"

"As much as I miss the sound of nails on a board," Isuko replied.

"Hahaha, you're a funny one, aren't you? I'm just busy online. You see, I'm quite something on the web, I've my blog to keep updated and stuff. Since there wasn't any wifi during the game, I couldn't work on those. I've no time to lose, my followers need me."

"Pff… nerd," Isuko mumbled.

The car stopped once again and Aki recognized his house. After everything he went through, he was finally home. The nightmare was finally over.

Aki opened the door and stepped inside, but as he was about to close it, he met resistance. He turned back to see Isuko got out of the car too, closing the door behind him. Then the limousine continued its way with only Asuka and the driver inside.

"Isuko-senpai?"

Isuko looked down for a moment, seeming embarassed, before he finally gazed at Aki in the eyes.

"What are you doing here?" Aki asked.

"We live in the same neighbourhood, I can go back home on foot. Beside, I… I wanted… I need to tell you something. Something I couldn't during the game, something I've been hiding from you out of petty pride and… fear."

Aki then remembered something Isuko told him, before he got interrupted by Tsurugi.

"You said… that you had feelings for me, right?" Aki asked.

Isuko suddenly blushed and look away for a moment. He then took a deep breath and looked back at his schoolmate.

"Aki… I… I lo… I love you! I always had from the moment we met! And not just as a friend, I… I have romantic feelings for you. I want you to be my boyfriend!"

Aki remained shocked. He was not expecting to hear those words. Never in his life did he thought Isuko would be in love with him.

That his own love was mutual.

Faced with Aki's silence, Isuko looked worried and embarrassed, as if he had committed a mistake.

"I… I'm sorry, Aki… I don't want to impose my feelings on-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Aki jumped towards him and sealed his mouth with a soft and chaste kiss. Isuko froze for a moment, as if he was shocked, before he kissed Aki back. Both boys were holding each other tenderly as they continue to kiss passionately, desperately needing it. After the hell they went through, they needed it, they needed to be comforted and know they were still alive, that they survived.

Aki eventually broke the kiss, gently cupping Isuko's cheek with his hand and looking at him lovingly.

"I love you too, Isuko," Aki said with a sweet smile. "I always had too."

Isuko almost looked like he was about to cry of joy as he kissed back Aki, sealing their new statues as boyfriends.

The world was indeed full of love.

* * *

 **And this is the end of Tenshi no Riddle. I hope you liked it. And don't worry, I'm not over with the AnR kids. I intend to make a compilation fic with various one-shots about them about their daily life and the couples, so stay tuned! Love you all ^^**


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